Caught Up
by AspiringWriterGirl
Summary: Post Season 4 - A new resident comes to Mr Ross' house with her own troubles, but little does she know that Nolan's new project is bringing its own problems to her life as well, leaving them completely caught up in a whirlwind of drama, deceit, danger and romance...
1. Chapter 1 - Apprehension

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: So I just finished watching the finale of Revenge and wanted to do a little side story on the Patterson boy who came to Nolan at the end. Here it is.

Just to start this off, I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 01**

My name is Michelle Campbell, daughter of the man called Jordan Campbell – the head of a large holiday corporation with hotels in nearly every region and state of America. Whilst everything may have looked picture perfect in our lives, underneath it all, it was much darker. Darker because my father was under investigation for a string of crimes, a string of crimes that he likely committed.

It was hard to believe that it was only last week that my mum's solicitor informed me that it would be advisable that I move out of the Campbell compound in Florida and relocate to somewhere else. That's when my mum suggested one of her few living relative – a man who lived further north than I had ever been and a man I had never heard of.

Her brother, her little brother who was my uncle, someone I had never met.

My mother parcelled me off for my own well-being, and I guessed that she was hoping that I wouldn't be targeted for what my father had done. It was hard to leave my family behind, but I trusted my mum and did as I was told.

I found myself being driven all the way along the coast only a few days later. Despite the journey taking a number of hours, I had learned to never go to sleep unless I knew I was safe.

As the car pulled up at my new guardian's house, I took a deep breath. Being eighteen years old and getting taken away from my childhood home, uprooted and dropped in a place I had never been to, I knew this was going to be difficult.

In addition to my relocation, the solicitor advised me to change my name in case people made the connection to the Campbell family. So Michelle Campbell had become Riley Osborne as it would lead to less questions being asked about her sudden arrival.

As I stepped out of the car, I had to reach inside for the first of my bags.

 _Looks like this is home for the meantime…_

Whilst it may have looked like a dream home, I couldn't quite crack a smile. The circumstances seemed too negative to do so.

The driver was desperate to meet the famous Nolan Ross and choose to leap out of the car and introduce me to him. "Mr Ross. I'd like to introduce you to-"

Because I knew he was going to say the wrong name, I stepped in before he could say Michelle. Whilst he was trusted by my mum to keep my identity and location a secret, he was only a driver. A means for me to get from point A to B.

"Riley Osborne…"

"Yeah, I was waiting until I would get to meet you again. Come on in." Mr Ross slowly closed the door, waving goodbye to the driver in a slightly sarcastic manner. "Right, your room is the one at the end of the corridor. The door's right there."

"Aren't you going to ask how Mum- your sister is?" I asked shyly, shuffling my bag and suitcase closer to me as I wanted to take up less space in the house.

Nolan stopped walking away from me and slowly turned on his toes. "Mel and I didn't exactly see eye to eye all those years ago… Now if anyone comes to the front door, don't talk to them – they're more likely here for business. Boring stuff really… Just let them in and tell me they're here." He began to walk away from me, making it clear he wasn't about to start talking.

"Oh, right, of course. You're busy right now." It hurt that he didn't have much of an interest in how my mum was, but I didn't let it show.

As he disappeared into the labyrinth like corridors of the house, I took it as my invitation to find my bedroom.

It was huge, way too big and grand for me. I would have rather had a box room than this. There was a large four poster bed with a silk material wound around the frame. The quilt itself was soft to touch and I was entranced by the gold thread pattern in the corners on the white. A large window took up one whole wall, but the view was certainly enticing. The pool, the cliffside and the sea that stretched for miles and miles – as far as the eye could see. The painting on the wall was one not quite to my own taste, but it really drew my attention to it. One wall beside the window was a series of sliding mirror doors that was my wardrobe at this house. In my mind, the room was reminiscent of my one at the Campbell compound.

Compelled to hide away for a moment, I refrained from packing and slipped inside the wardrobe, shutting the sliding door behind me. In the darkness, I slowly bent my knees, lowering myself to the floor. Emotions were running through my head and I felt like I was completely isolated to the house. Away from everyone and anyone.

I wondered what sort of business Nolan had house calls for, and if I was braver, I would have done a little bit of snooping to find out. But seeing as I had portrayed myself as the shy niece, it would be out of place for me to start snooping.

For as long as I can remember, I cannot remember ever seeing my Uncle Nolan. Uncle Nolan, that was a weird thought… but maybe it was something to embrace rather than shy away from.

"Riley… Riley?"

I could hear a knock at the bedroom door, followed by it slowly opening.

"You got to be kidding me."

"It's alright," I said calmly, sliding the door to one side so that he could see me.

He raised an eyebrow in a quizzical look. "Erm, why are you in there?"

"Sorry," I said quickly, nervously climbing out of the window. "I didn't think it would matter – I only wanted time to myself to be honest. This hasn't been easy for me, or you for that matter. It's not every day that you suddenly become the guardian for an uncle you've never met. Or that you become the guardian of some random girl."

"Well there is a first for everything."

"Yeah..."

I followed him through the house to see some pizza boxes on the counter from my favourite pizzeria on the Miami beach front. It had the nicest guy running it and he'd always slip in an extra dipping sauce when I ordered from him. The pizza itself was cooked in a stone oven so to me, the process felt really natural.

"When did you-? How did you get them?"

"Well, let's just say your mum had a list of a 'few' things I should know about you before I took you on. This was one of them. Pizza from your favourite pizzeria or you won't eat it. Boy, and I thought I was the picky one in the family."

Whilst I ate the pizza up at the kitchen counter, my uncle was busy multitasking with a pizza in one hand and typing on the keyboard of his laptop.

If I was feeling nosey, I would have looked over at the screen, but the way he was squinting at the screen and frowning a little made me feel like it was something important, or worrying.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, closing the lid of the pizza box. "You look worried."

"No – it's nothing. Just a little bit of a side project I've been working on at the moment. Never mind, so let's talk about what you're going to do." He closed the laptop and rested his chin on his hands.

"Shouldn't I just stay here, out of sight, so that there's no trouble. I don't mind, but it would be for the best, right?"

Nolan didn't quite agree with my reasoning. "I didn't get where I am today sitting at home doing nothing you know."

"Well no, but you're part of a huge corporation… Or at least you used to be. Now you probably own something like a small bar or club to keep the money coming in. As do these little side projects."

Somehow, I was feeling myself coming out of my shell a little more. My mind was ticking away, drawing all these mini sub-conclusions.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, with a slight smile on his face.

"I have my reasons," I replied, laughing as I walked away down the corridor, before turning back. "Oh, and whatever is on that laptop, it's certainly nothing to do with work, but it is a side project you've been- not creating, helping someone with."

How did I know? Well, when I looked for a plate in the drawer, I stumbled upon a small stack of coasters with a gold building on and 'Hampton's Beach Club' around it. As for the work thing, that was more of a stab in the dark. Whilst Michelle was more of a shy and timid girl, I felt like Riley could now start to show a braver and inquisitive side to her. Deep down, I always wished that I was braver.

"Someone's at the door, Nolan!" I called out as I walked past the front door, but rather than see who it was, I carried on towards my room and pushed the door almost shut so that there was a crack for me to see through.

My uncle Nolan walked over to the door, opened it and signalled the guest into the kitchen.

The guest was a tall, young looking man with his dark hair in an almost crew cut style. He walked slowly and then stopped for a moment in the hallway to glance over his shoulder.

Our eyes connected for a moment and I shut the door instantly.

"Damn…" I cursed, realising there was no way that I was now going to see what was going on, let alone hear it either.

Rather than go for subtlety, I decided to straight out go to the kitchen for something… Making more noise than I should have showed that I wasn't going to be sneaking around.

"Hey Nolan, just grabbing a glass of water," I said, opening the fridge door.

The fridge was stocked with all this healthy stuff, mostly weird organic products that I had never heard of, with a mix of some sneaky unhealthy stuff too. At first, I had no idea where the water was, but when I looked at my hand locked onto the door, I saw one of those filtering jugs.

Whilst I was filling up the glass, I managed to overhear a few words from Nolan and his guest including 'innocent,' 'judge' and the third word I picked up made me drop the glass. Dropping to catch it before it hit the floor was a big mistake.

Now I felt a huge searing pain in my left hand, but I barely made a noise, not even a squeak.

"Riley?" Nolan asked, but he too swore when he saw the blood dropping onto the floor out of the gash in my hand. "What have you done?"

"I just dropped a glass and tried to catch it."

The guest held out the towel. "Here," he said calmly.

"Thanks," I replied, trying to wrap it around my hand, but failing significantly.

The guy took it back and, leaning over the counter, he began wrap it around my hand.

"Oh- ow, thanks," I whispered, unable to stop smiling.

Nolan slowly pushed me away down the corridor away from our guest.

"Hang on Nolan, who is that?" I asked, and I was certainly not backing down either.

"A work friend, Riley."

"You don't do work calls Nolan… I know that. This is to do with what was on your laptop earlier, wasn't it?" I looked over his shoulder and shouted out to the guest. "I'm Riley, nice to meet-" I couldn't even finish the sentence because Nolan was ushering me so quickly towards my room.

"We'll talk in the morning. Please don't get involved. I'm supposed to be keeping you safe."

Before Nolan could properly shut my bedroom door, I propped it open with my foot.

"Oh, so it is dangerous and to do with a murder case where the judge ruled them guilty when in reality they really are innocent. From the looks of our guest, it's not him, but it is a family member. Mum or dad maybe."

"Okay, you're really scaring me with all of this prediction stuff, but maybe you're more useful than I think you are."

"Then introduce me and let me listen in with the situation!" I squealed cheerfully.

"No, not yet. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight Uncle Nolan!" I yelled as he walked away from my room.

Peering through the gap in the door, and trying to hear their conversation without going out of the room was useless. I waited it out, and when the guest saw himself out, I slipped my hand through the gap and waved to him.

He laughed and waved back before walking out of the door.

The next day, Nolan took me to the Hampton's Beach Club, before I told him the name of it, which did worry him a little.

We were sitting at a table in a separate section of the club whilst he was going through accounts with his accountant or something like that.

As I looked over at the bar, I began to admire all the various bottles of alcohol – some of which I had never even heard of.

"Can I work behind the bar?" I asked blankly.

"Riley, work will take precedence here, but I don't think this is the place where your mum was thinking of you working when she sent you here."

"But it's a great place, isn't it?" I tried to make the circumstances more positive.

"Yeah, but not for you right now. Look, why don't you get in touch with an old friend of mine. I'm sure she'd love to meet you even though she doesn't actually know about you. She'll be at the house knowing her. Don't worry, she's had a key for a while now, I don't think I ever got it back… Perhaps you could see what-"

I wondered who it could be, and I was eager to meet a friend of my uncle's.

When I got home, she was sitting in one of the chairs at the kitchen counter with a near full glass of white wine in her hand. As her back was turned to me, I felt like I should make myself known before she dropped the glass and ended up with a cut like mine on her hand.

"Hi," I said, closing the door behind me. "Nolan said you'd be here by the time I got home."

"Why look at you, aren't you the prettiest flower I ever did see?" she replied, standing up and hugging me gently. "I didn't know Nolan had a daughter."

I burst out laughing. "I'm not his daughter, I'm his niece. Riley."

"Louise Ros-. Just Louise to you." Her green eyes were so bright and her hair hung down past her shoulders in loose curls.

"You were going to say Ross, weren't you?" I giggled, sitting down at the table. "It seems you and Nolan must be closer than he was letting on because he doesn't seem like the person that would let you have the glass of white you have there on the table. Especially from such an expensive bottle."

Louise blinked, looking slightly to the side. "Well I suppose you could say that we were- are close."

"Were? You must be close, right? You're in his house. You have his key" I looked down at the kitchen drawers and wondered whether Louise really was the one that Nolan wanted me to meet, but when I saw the lonely brass coloured key sitting on the counter, I knew she was the right person.

"What I mean is that, how do I put this? We used to be married so that my mother wouldn't get her hands on my money. We were supposed to be going to Italy, but plans changed. Am I right?"

"I believe so… Listen, Louise, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can sweetie, what do you want to know about your uncle?"

I was surprised that she knew who I was going to talk about. "Well, he had this guy come-"

For some reason, I felt that maybe the identity of the guest should come from Nolan, rather than Louise. She seemed nice, and I felt like Nolan wanted to make sure I had some kind of motherly figure whilst in the Hamptons.

"No, that's not important. Did Nolan really not mention anything about me?"

"Well no, he rarely spoke about his family throughout our marriage." Louise got back up from the chair and wandered over to the portrait that hung above the built in fireplace. "Help me with this." She looked over her shoulder at me with a hand at either side of the portrait.

Intrigued, I rushed at the chance to help and we took the portrait off the wall. There was a safe embedded into the wall.

"Oo, secret safe- I likey…"

"Yeah, Nolan always kept private things here, the only time I looked in, there was a photo album. A large red leather bound thing."

"So this is it…" I replied, reaching inside and pulling out the large album.

Louise phone began to ring, and although I had no idea who it was, it was certainly important because she left almost immediately, barely even saying goodbye.

I debated whether or not to look at the album. In the end, I couldn't resist having a peek.

The first page was his, our family. An old family portrait of the four of them. Everything looked so planned and organised, almost staged to a certain extent. Then the next few pages were of him and my mum growing up.

Flicking through them, I was in awe at the uncle I never knew. There were some photos and newspaper articles about him and then I saw a picture of him and 'David Clarke'. They looked happy and then there were some wedding photos and I smiled at the friendship that was prevalent in the images.

Then I felt a tear fall from my eye.

It was me, a tiny baby girl, in his arms. Beneath the few pictures, was the caption on a little piece of card;

 _ **Michelle Devon Campbell – born 23:57 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **May – weighing 7lb 2oz – The Ross/Campbell gift of God**_

It was beautiful to see the doting uncle that was Nolan in these pictures.

"Louise showed you the safe then?"

Nolan's voice terrified me, startling me at that moment.

"Oh, sorry Nolan – I didn't think you'd be home. Yeah, she seems nice, and I can't wait to see more of her, if that's okay?" I got down from the kitchen counter, walking towards him. "Thank you… So much." Wrapping my arms around him, I held him tightly.

"What for?" he asked, slowly resting one hand on my head, and the other around my shoulders.

"Because I doubted you and thought that you didn't care about me and Mum – but these pictures really show that you do. I just wish I had seen more of you when I was growing up."

"Well," he replied, pulling away from me. "Your father made sure that I stayed well away from you and your mother."

"What do you mean?" I followed him, asking a further series of questions.

"Woah, calm down. He just did, threats and bribes, I tried to see you both, but it got too hard, so I admitted defeat. The last time I saw you, you were just three years old and I don't think you realised what was going on." Picking up the album, he turned a few more pages where I noticed him and a blonde girl popping up in various pictures.

I saw the one of the toddler and my uncle. We were at a beach where the water was crystal clear and shining blue. Seeing Nolan looking so happy and cheerful in the pictures made me feel as though we had a lot of time to make up for it.

"So, you going to tell me why Scott Patterson was at the house? His mother was that woman who was convicted of embezzlement and murder, right?"

"You have to stop doing that…"

"What can I say? I'm an observant and inquisitive individual."

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = This has been a huge re-write compared to my last edition of this story! I loved the idea of dropping a sub story in with how I imagined this Patterson case to be like, and who doesn't like Nolan enough for him to have his own story? Yeah, make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Reluctance

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: So what's going to happen to Riley in this chapter- she'll be using that good old intuition of hers to get out of any iffy situations!

Just to start this off, I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 02**

"Nolan…" I called out through the house, walking down the main corridor in the search of my uncle. "I know where to find Arnie!" I added loudly, knowing it would grab his attention.

"You do?"

Instantly, just as I thought he would, Nolan appeared around the corner, making me jump a little it was that quick.

"Yes I do…" I replied, smiling uncontrollably. "I know where to find the newspaper reporter, the journalist Arnie C. He was the one who published the article about Mrs Patterson and I know you've been looking for him. Because you two want to see if there is some bribery or biased behaviour there."

Even if I had found Arnie, my methods weren't quite so conventional and I wasn't proud of it either. Deep down, I was just hoping that Nolan wouldn't ask, but I had the strongest feeling that he was going to anyway.

"How did you find him?" Nolan folded his arms, obviously eager to know the answer.

"Well, I looked at the social media stuff you found from the newspaper firm and then I used other sites to get him to bite…"

"What sites?"

I couldn't tell him – deep down, it was making me cringe a little at the thought of telling him the truth.

"A dating site…"

He smirked at me. "You know how to throw a party, don't you? So what's the poor lonely journalist doing on a dating site?"

"Obviously looking for that special someone to settle down with, or at least that is the feeling I get from his page," I replied, retrieving my tablet from the counter and showing him the site I had found Arnie the reporter on. "See for yourself."

"Right, at least we've got something to work with." Nolan swiped his finger across the tablet's screen. "He's cute."

"No, Nolan. I've already set up a ghost account to reel him in so let's see how that goes then, shall we?" I reached out for the tablet, but he held it out of my reach. "Come on, give it back."

"Well, taking a step back, I don't recall asking your help regarding the Patterson case. Neither did Scott whatever you say."

I growled a little before storming off in a huff. Heading for the door, I could hear Nolan calling out to me, but it didn't bother me – I just wanted to get away. Yes, I wasn't asked to help, but I wanted to. I had nothing else to do, Nolan wouldn't let me work at the bar, so why was there such an issue that I help them out?

Without even taking a jacket, I ran out the door. Staggering away from the house, I sidled past the tall hedges to the main road. I carried on until I found myself at the marina. One hell of a long walk to say the least. It was beautiful to be at the beachfront. Back at home in Florida, I would spend so much time in the water. Sometimes, it was difficult to get me out of the water. I'd normally just sit on a surf board and drift about in the sea.

Now, I stood with the Hampton's Beach Club behind me, staring at the multiple boats that were moored so majestically in the harbour.

As I was watching, I was rudely bumped into by a tall man wearing a light grey suit. Even at that moment, I instantly recognised as Arnie.

"Oh sorry – didn't mean to bump into you like that." He took a short breath. "Sorry, enjoy your afternoon."

I watched him walk away from me and knew that I would be exempted from getting information out of Arnie now that he had seen me. It would only arouse suspicion if I turned up on a 'date' with him. Curse words floated in my mind as I felt like my chances of helping with the Patterson case were getting diminished.

When I finally decided to return home, I was still angry. Angry because I was being made to feel as if there was nothing for me to do if I couldn't help with Nolan's Patterson Project. As I walked up the path, I found myself taking in the various scents of the rose bushes that lined the stone walkway.

In the distance, I could hear something, something I had always wanted to hear at a home. My heart was leaping out of my chest with exhilaration and joy. Ever since I was a little girl, I had wished for this to happen one day. The sound was like ecstasy to my ears. My pace quickened and as I opened the front door, I was met by the best little creature in the world.

"Hi there!" I squealed, moving my head to the side so that I would have a face clean of wet licks from the pink tongue. "Are you the cutest?" I grinned, giggling at the wet nose on my cheek.

"You've met Stella then?"

Any anger I was feeling, vanished. "Stella… Is she mine?"

"Well I believe that I owe you a few birthday presents. So why not your own little puppy? Even if she's not that little." Nolan smiled at me and my new dog. "At least you're happy now."

"What do you mean? You basically said you don't want my help, so of course I was angry." Forgetting Stella for a moment, I was about to harden up to deliver the emotive punch. "This doesn't make everything better though." I frowned at my uncle before picking Stella up off the floor. "Hello Stella – nice to meet you. We're going to be the best of friends."

"The crate is in your room- and as she's your present, you'll be in charge of taking care of her. Not me. You're walking her, taking her outside, picking up everything and washing her. If you're lucky, I may help with the food and miscellaneous items."

"Of course, of course I will- she's beautiful!" Holding onto Stella, I lunged forwards and squeezed Nolan tightly. "Thank you Nolan – I'll take good care of her." When I let go, I put Stella on the floor and watched her scamper around the kitchen and living area, sniffing at the floor to explore her new home.

"At least you like her- I was wondering whether you'd come around or not. The only reason I didn't want you getting involved was because you're my little niece and I can't let you get hurt."

"Uncle Nolan – you know I'm old enough to take care of myself." I sat down on the sofa, lifting Stella onto my lap and letting her climb on me. "Come on, let's talk, let's catch up… I want to know what's going on. So that I'm up to speed…" I paused and waited for him to sit down beside me. "Does Scott Patterson want you to prove his mother's innocence?"

"You guessed it, but these people – they're dangerous. The firm she was employed at needed someone to take the fall – obviously she was the most likeliest target."

I pursed my lips a little, but something was bothering me. "Do you think she did it?"

"Of course she didn't. Why would Scott come to me if she had done it?"

"Because you could provide him with evidence that could help to push the trial back a little bit- maybe he's heard of you and the case you helped Amanda Clarke with? I just don't get how you can instantly trust him for this." Something about Scott made me doubt him, I clearly couldn't explain it to Nolan as well as I wanted to. "Especially when you aren't emotionally invested in this case like the last one…"

"Now that's unfair, and I do trust Scott because it was Amanda who sent him to find me." Nolan seemed to want to change the conversation a little, which only caught my attention more. "So how is the job hunt progressing?"

I froze, my mouth opening and closing a little creating inaudible utterances. "It… It's going. Well seeing as you aren't letting me work behind the bar at the Beach Club, I thought I'd help with the investigation regarding Mrs Patterson."

"No Michelle!" Nolan snapped, standing up abruptly. As he gazed outside the windows, he ran a hand through his hair.

"Riley-" I persistently corrected him.

Silence. Then when he found the words to say, he said them

"You are not going to get involved in this investigation. Do you want to know why? Because people die. People died all around me when I helped Amanda, and that was hard enough, but I'm not going to let you get hurt. By… By running around undercover, or meeting up with bias journalists who might find out about your identity and your father's lifestyle. The last time, people died. Roger Halsted – killed for being a friend. Paul Whitley – died after convincing Conrad Grayson to confess. Padma Lahari – murdered for- really because of me. Declan Porter – killed in a bomb explosions, he was just eighteen years old, not much younger than you are now. Emily Thorne – died in a propane explosion and her body lies at the bottom of the ocean. Aiden Mathis – poisoned and suffocated because of what he knew and who he befriended. Ben Hunter – stabbed in the back for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Daniel Grayson – killed protecting Amanda… David Clarke, he died being free, but I think about him every single day. Those are just some of the people that died, there were people who were exiled across the sea, people with ruined reputations and people with broken hearts. I don't want you to be a part of what I'm doing with Scott because I never want any of that to happen to you."

Moving Stella off my lap and onto the sofa, I stood up straight and kept my gaze fixed on him. "Uncle Nolan, no amount of names or pain will stop me, I want to help you. Let me prove to you that I can be useful… Please?"

"It's not up to me – it's not my investigation… I'm just becoming the trusty sidekick. And if I'm not allowed to call you Michelle – despite it being a slip of the tongue, then you cannot call me Uncle. Not just because it's weird and I'm not used to it, but in case someone hears."

"Fine!" I sighed. "Come on Stella, let's leave the big mean man to glower and frown at his computer screen whilst we hatch a plan. Stella!"

She followed me obediently like the puppy she was, sliding into the wall due to the shiny waxed wood floor of the corridor.

That night, I hatched my plan, and the following evening, it was unveiled. It was simple and shouldn't take too long, plus it didn't endanger me which would always be a positive in Nolan's eyes.

I opened the front door and ushered Louise in, hoping that Nolan wouldn't notice.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" I asked, it had been bugging me all day that I had to encourage her to do this. "Arnie is a nice enough guy from the conversations I have orchestrated on the site so I feel like you should be able to build up a rapport with him pretty easily. Plus when I knew I couldn't meet him, I changed my lexis to be like yours."

"Honestly sweetie, don't you worry about a thing. Your uncle made it clear that I should do or be whatever it takes to keep you out of it so that's why I'm here." The look on her face made me feel as though she wasn't meant to say that, or let on that she had told Nolan about our plan.

"Nolan!" I shouted, utterly infuriated.

He leaned around the wall, smiling weakly. "Yes Riley?"

"You knew that I was going to get Louise to meet Arnie all this time, and made me sneak about for nothing. What's wrong with you?"

Nolan's shoulders shrugged before he folded his arms sternly, asserting his authority above mine. "Because if you are going to help Scott, then I thought it would be best to see whether you're capable of sneaking about and hiding things from people including me…"

"Okay, so does this mean that I can actually help you and Scott because I am sick and tired of actually trying to help and you blocking my every move- well? Does it?"

Louise put a hand on my shoulder. "Sweetheart, your uncle did what he did and does what he does because he loves you. He may not say or show it, but he does. I know he does."

"Does he have to be such a pain about it?" I moaned, opening the front door again, but Nolan blocked the way out. "Come on Nolan- please!"

"No, you're not going."

"Come on…" I said, rolling my eyes in irritation. "You can't lock me up in here forever- it's not fair. I can help you and Scott- I'm way more helpful than you think." My voice was beginning to crack from the pressure of a huge lump in the back of my throat.

"Um, well I only said you're not going, because we're all going…"

A light inside me lit up and I felt so warm at the thought of being allowed to help out. I also felt kind of stupid for acting so emotional.

"But only because I want to make sure Louise is okay."

They way that Louise and Nolan were with one another, I wondered whether there was still hope for the reigniting of their relationship – seeing how they spoke about the other and to each other, and those split second gazes made me want them to get back together. It was like they were well suited to one another. Rather selfishly, I wished they would get together so that I would have some kind of motherly figure in the Hamptons.

"Come on then, let's go… What are you two waiting for?" I asked, already out of the door myself.

Nolan followed behind me with a briefcase in his hand. "Just something we're going to need."

I was about to say something, but when Nolan walked straight past me and unlocked the car. It was a polished, shining and sleek looking silver car that there was not a single mark or scratch on it. Pristine and freshly cleaned. The cream leather seats made me feel as though this whole thing was really a huge operation.

The car drove towards the restaurant that I had arranged for Louise and Arnie to meet at. It was a dinner reservation for two at seven thirty. Every so often, I would stare at the clock on the radio panel of the car to check what time it was. When I couldn't bear waking, I got out of the car and headed towards the restaurant. I passed a couple walking arm in arm, forcing me to sidle up against the window of a fashion boutique next to the restaurant that was now closed. For a moment, I was distracted by the dress in the window, but then I forced myself back to reality and sat down opposite the restaurant and waited for Arnie to appear ready for his date.

Nolan phoned me to make sure we were ready for everything.

"Yes Nolan – it's all fine. Everything is fine. I'm ready for this, and if anything goes wrong, I will get right in there and save the day. I promise."

"Okay Riley. I'm just making sure."

"That's okay. Just like everyone says, you only check up on me because you care…" Keeping my gaze fixed on the restaurant, I could see Louise waiting and then a man walking towards her. "Arnie's here. Keep chatting to Louise."

"Stay where you are."

Arnie was a tall man of average build with dark brown hair that had a messed style to it. He walked towards Louise, walking almost right past her. Then looking over his shoulder, it seemed like he hesitated in engaging in conversation with her. There was a small wire bound notebook poking out of the side pocket of the suit jacket he was wearing which made me feel like he wanted to be ready to report anything.

Once they went inside the restaurant, I made my way back to the car, where Nolan had a tablet on his lap with a small earpiece connected to Louise.

"How's it going?" I asked, slipping slowly into the back seat.

"We'll have to see how it goes- steer clear of that topic, Lou," Nolan said, talking to both me and Louise.

Rather than carry on the discussion with Nolan, I sat back in the chair and listened. Unfortunately, I did actually fall asleep and had to assume that everything was okay when Louise got in the car. She slammed the door shut so hard that I woke up instantly. Maybe a little more startled than I would have liked.

"Well that was a waste of time…" she sighed.

"What? What do you mean?" I squeaked curiously, realising a sudden change in how I had thought things had gone.

"He didn't seem to want to talk about the report and his work. Most of the questions he asked were directed to Ellis House, most likely because it was the site of Grayson Manor. He let slip that he knew construction was going to be difficult…"

"Is that the site of the people that Am-"

Nolan interrupted before I could finish. "Yes, that's where those people lived, but that does not mean that Lou will be the next Victoria Grayson."

"Far from it." Louise agreed with Nolan.

Whilst I never met any of the Graysons, Nolan had made it clear that they were the worst kind of people – I'm pretty sure that he spoke about Victoria's daughter close to finishing a course a NYU. So for anyone to mention Louise as a replacement for Victoria Grayson was a shock to my system. I knew they were friends in the past, but that was before Louise helped Amanda bring her down. Now, I wanted to be like Louise and help Scott to see if Mrs Patterson was the innocent woman that her son so desperately declared her to be.

As the car came to a stop at the small apartment that Louise was staying in whilst construction for Ellis House started, she got out so quickly that I had to reach across the seat and push the door open.

"Thank you for agreeing to help." I smiled at her and she returned it before squeezing the phone in her hand. Instantly, I knew that she had something to tell me. Something important.

"So how did I do Nolan?"

Without thinking, I climbed through to the front passenger seat which Nolan wasn't impressed with.

"What? I do it all the time!" I squeaked abruptly, fastening my seatbelt. "But seriously, how did I do?"

"From what Louise told me whilst you were busy in Dreamland, you picked the wrong assistant."

Nolan was beginning to irritate me with this cryptic talk – why would you need to talk like that? With me, I prefer straight talking people who just get to the point rather than dance around what they wanted to say.

"What?"

"I'll let Louise tell you all about Arnie. His personal preferences in particular."

 _What the- Are you kidding me? Such a rookie mistake._

"No way, he never let on that he was- oh wow. Oh god. How did I not know? This is crazy."

But then something crossed my mind. Something that might just give the case something to get moving, though I wasn't sure if I should let Nolan know what I was thinking.

The next day, I tried to wash Stella, who seemed more interested in running up and down the bath than being wash. Fortunately for me, she has quite short curls of hair which people seem to think might grow a little bit over the next few months. It still didn't stop my hoodie and jeans from getting wet as she splashed about.

"Stella – stop it! Stella you little rascal, come here," I said in that high pitched voice as I lifted her up out of the bath and wrapped her in the towel.

Her face poked out of the towel and she reached to lick me, getting my chin in the process.

"Don't lick me, please stop it!" I squealed as her wet tongue coated my cheek. "Come on, let's take you outside."

Carrying Stella outside, I opened the door to a little side garden Nolan had cordoned off specially for Stella – and also because I wouldn't let Stella go near the pool until she was confident in the water. Whilst Stella went into the garden, I realised just how damp my hoodie was and felt like it could do with being hung outside in the sunshine. My arms crossed themselves over my body as I pulled it up and over my head.

"Oh wow – sorry! I didn't think that. Sorry, I'll go."

"Scott?" I replied, with the hoodie over my face, and then I realised that I must have grabbed my vest as well. Nervous laughter took over me and I couldn't control myself.

"Why are you laughing?"

After dropping down behind the kitchen island and sorting myself out, I stood up quickly with my jumper in my hand. Stella ran in and bounded up at me before she noticed that someone else was in the house. She sniffed around the kitchen island and then over to Scott. Her head tilted a little as she looked up at him. Suddenly, she flopped down onto her back, exposing her little mottled stomach as she panted heavily.

"She likes you," I said calmly, leaning on the kitchen counter to see him scratch Stella's tummy. "Even when I take her for walks, she seemed to growl at practically anyone she meets…"

There was about a minute of silence between us and it was him who broke it.

"Thanks for helping us lure Archie out. Nolan tells me that you want to help and whilst he seems adamant to let you in and help, I'm keen to see if you can push the case further. At the end of the day, if someone can help me prove the innocence of my mother, then why can't I let her help?"

I smiled, seeing how the pair of us had a similar style of thinking. "Well that's exactly what I've been trying to say to Nolan… Looks like you put it in a better way than I did."

"Maybe I just have a better way with words than you." Scott winked at me in a joking way which made me wrinkle my nose a little at him. "I guess I better be going, but I'll be back in the morning to talk about our next step with Arnie," he added, walking towards me.

As he got closer, he held out his hand to me.

"To proving innocence?"

My hand instantly squeezed his. "Proving innocence."

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = I love love LOVE writing this story and can't wait to see what you think of this second chapter** **Let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Misinterpretation

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Let's carry on with what's going on with the Patterson case

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 03**

I held the phone to my ear. "You mean, he's… He's not into women? Archie is, wow. I did not see that coming."

"As sure as the nose on your face, sweetie. He admitted it to me last night," Louise told me – whenever I heard her voice, I instantly began to smile, it was her accent. I loved it. "That was before you fell asleep."

There were voices on the other end of the phone and it wasn't long before Louise had to go somewhere. I disconnected the call and took a deep breath, pressing the handset to my lips in deep thought.

A bark from outside startled me – I still hadn't gotten used to having Stella around. She was bounding up at the glass door to her garden, pressing her padded paws against it. The thumping on the glass made me hurry to the door.

"Sorry Stella, the wind must have caught the door," I said in a higher pitch as I let her in. "I'm sorry Stella."

She leapt up at me and I noticed something in her mouth, but before I could grab it, she darted away.

"Hey, come back here girl…" I said, shuffling around the kitchen counter towards my little dog as she bounded about. "Stella…"

She growled at me before ducking under the glass coffee table. Those growls really bugged me because she would always do that when I was doing nothing wrong.

"Don't you growl at me, missy," I squeaked aggressively, creeping towards her because I knew if I ran at her, she would go mental and knock everything over.

It had already happened once before, Nolan didn't like the fact that a glass ornament got knocked off the table and shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.

A muffled bark from Stella made me think about her pull rope. It was this thick blue rope that I had bought her and whenever we played with it, I ended up letting her win so that she could grow a little tougher. I knew it was lying in the garden so I backed away from the little pup and out the door. She didn't seem to care at all as I stepped outside and picked it up, but as soon as she saw what it was that I had grabbed, it was action stations. The black thing that was in her mouth fell to the floor and I threw the rope gently back outside. Like a rocket, Stella darted into the garden and wrestled with the rope by herself.

The black thing that was in Stella's mouth was now a little bit chewed which worried me a little because if it was a bug or something like that, then it meant that we were being watched and that we needed to extract information from it.

Instinctively, I pulled out my phone and called Nolan, but no answer. As if by magic, the door opened and in stepped Nolan holding up his phone.

"That wasn't your brightest idea, Riley…" he murmured in a low tone.

"What?" I asked, screwing up my face. "What do you mean? I found something weird, so I called you. I mean, I thought about it. About what if it was from the guys who are behind Scott's mother's trial and they found out that you and he were working together, and then they came and found us and they hurt us. Because you said that you didn't want anything to happen to me, and I don't want anything to happen to Stella, and- and I don't want anything to happen to you…"

"Riley," he said again and again, silencing me. "I put it there to see what you would do… And you did the not-so-good thing."

"You put Stella at risk – she could have eaten it!" I didn't understand what he was on about. "Un- Nolan, can you quit being so cryptic and tell me what I supposedly did wrong?"

"Well, put it this way. Amanda would have known what kind of bug it was and then deactivated it so she could trace its origins back to whoever put it there."

Anger built up inside me- recently, it seemed that Amanda was all that Nolan could talk about, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. This constant comparison between me and her, like I had to live up to the presence she left behind.

"Stop it!" I shouted, "Stop comparing us… It's not fair. We aren't the same. I'm not like her. Just because she was some golden girl who wanted to cleanse her father's name, and I want to help Scott prove his mother's innocence, that doesn't mean me and Amanda have to be the same. I can be just as good as she was, but in a different way. So, so, so-"

"Calm down Riley, it's not a comparison. It's just showing you the other side of the coin…" Nolan tried his best to calm me down, but I stormed off in a huff.

Without even thinking, I stepped into the mirrored wardrobe and slumped down to the floor, pushing the door shut behind me. I could feel the various materials of the clothes that I owned resting on my shoulders. Whilst my clothes didn't span across the whole rail, I loved each and every one of those items of clothing. Just sitting there, counting to ten, and breathing deeply was enough to eradicate the anger that had suddenly emblazed itself within me.

"Riley… Riley?" Nolan opened my bedroom door and I heard skittering paws across the floor, followed by a metallic sounding clang as my puppy jumped up at the mirrored panel of the wardrobe. "You think she's in there then?"

The panel slid to the side and I was almost attacked by Stella. It was hard to be angry when I was having my face licked to death by her. She was the cutest little puppy in the world.

"I need to apologise…" Nolan sighed, appearing a little uncomfortable. He awkwardly perched on the edge of the bed. "You and Amanda are- you're both incredibly important to me and I need you to know that it was unfair to do what I did without preparing you." He folded his arms and stood up abruptly. "But Amanda's gone, and I'm stuck with you so I'll have to teach you a trick or two."

"Really Nolan?" I said calmly. "Because it's just a pain when you bring her up in a comparison to me…" I added, holding Stella down on my lap to stop her jumping up at me. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I do. I just stick by what I said before. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Uncl- Nolan," I corrected myself quickly. "Let me learn how to protect myself and help with the technology stuff, but let me still be me."

Nolan remained silent for a moment, which worried me a little.

"Besides, I think Archie needs a little push in the right direction…" I sat down beside him, nudging him with my elbow. "And no more mini tests for me, okay? I'll try to learn some of the stuff that Amanda learnt. Only if you promise not to try and test me- just tell me what to do instead. Deal?" I held out my hand for him to shake.

His head rolled a little and then he took my hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Deal."

 _Let's see how long this lasts._

Later that week, Scott arrived and we were ready to track Archie down for the second attempt at squeezing some information out of him.

"Do you think he can do it?" Scott asked, referring to Nolan.

I personally wasn't sure, but I had faith in my uncle. "Of course he will."

"There's a lot riding on this though…" he mumbled cynically. "So how are you finding life over this side of the states?"

It was at that moment that I wasn't sure whether to answer him or not. Nolan didn't want me talking about my life as Michelle Campbell, and I didn't know if that meant the difference between The Hamptons and Florida. Scott didn't know much about me, apart from the fact that Nolan was looking after me, and I was obviously living with him. Confused didn't describe my current state of emotion.

"Well it's okay here, I guess." I stopped, looking out the glass wall that was a window in this case. "But when you're presented with an opportunity, you take it, don't you?" Immediately, I focused on changing the conversation topic. "So these people that set your mum up, do you know them?"

Scott scowled at the fact I had brought them up. "I know them, every last one of them. But Nolan thinks I should focus on the small players before I look at the big guys at the top, which is why we took the lead on Arnie."

"My lead." I was hasty to correct Scott on that little technicality. "As long as Nolan doesn't get too involved…"

It felt strange doubting Nolan's ability to play his part, but it was true. I wondered whether he might get caught up in the moment, simply forget about the case and finds himself infatuated with Arnie. It was peculiar, because Arnie seemed like a nice enough guy – Nolan said himself, he thought the young journalist was cute. Deep down, I worried about the outcome of prying Arnie for information, but I blamed this doubt on my over active imagination.

"Don't worry about him. Amanda told me if there was anyone to help me prove my mother's innocence, it was him." Scott smiled cheerfully.

"So what's she like- Amanda I mean, not your mum…"

"Amanda is, she's smart and talented. We spent a long time together, she taught me how to defend myself and all these techniques that she expected would help me and my project." The way Scott spoke showed he was thankful for what she had told him, clearly because it got him closer to clearing his mother's name.

I thought about what to say next, but went with what my head told me. "Will you teach me?"

Scott smiled a little, clearly pleased at the concept of teaching me. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

 _What? You smiled as if you were please by the concept… So why are you so quizzical?_

"Alright then," I replied, shrugging my shoulders like it didn't bother me. Deep down, I had a plan mapped out for how to get him to agree. Walking down the corridor, I counted in my head, expecting to stop counting at five, but stopping at three seconds.

"Okay, okay." Scott reached out for me, grazing my hand. "I'll teach you some of the stuff that I know, but only if you understand that I will not go easy on you and I will pretty much overpower you."

 _Oh you did not just imply I was weak. You did not._

"So you don't think I could take you in a fight?" I asked, standing up straighter.

"No, you wouldn't stand a chance." Scott folded his large arms, purposefully clenching his muscles. "Come on, let's take this outside." He opened the sliding door that took us out to a patio near the poolside. "Come on then…"

I was ready for this, I just had to remember everything that I had seen in the films. To use my opponent's weaknesses against him and to use my surroundings to my advantage. Stepping out into the garden, the sun hit my shoulders and blinded me momentarily whilst I tried to focus on wherever Scott was.

"Right okay, no going easy, please?" I said calmly.

"Okay, I promise I won't go easy on you…"

I feebly raised my fists, readying myself for a fight. The anticipation was so unbelievably awkward for me. He crouched down slightly and I could feel the blood pounding in my head. Taking a few steps back, I shuffled away like a worried child trying to cower in the corner.

"Are you going to hit me or what?" Scott taunted, calmly laughing at me, but he caught me off guard and landed the gentlest punch to the shoulder that made me stagger back, falling over one of the sun loungers.

He was clearly going easy on me, it was a feeble punch that someone of his stature would not deliver if his life was at risk.

"Hey!" I snapped.

"What? You wanted me to teach you how to fight, but I've got to test what you're capable of!"

Scott swung some slow swipes, which really hurt when I managed to block them with my own arm. As our arms slammed into one another, there was a moment where I thought I could overpower him, but I was wrong. If I had carried on blocking him, then I would have ended up in Stella's garden.

The sun glistened on the pool, giving me an idea. Shuffling to the side, I managed to coerce him near to the pool's edge. In the moment, I hoped for him to focus deeply on moving away from it because he knew the pool was there, and give me an opportunity to strike. But he didn't.

He did the total opposite.

"Scott!" I shouted, jumping forwards to try and catch him before he fell into the water.

There was a splash that showered me and the sun loungers at the poolside as his body fell into the water.

Cupping my hands over my mouth, I watched awkwardly as Scott resurfaced. I began to panic when his body floated face down along the surface of the water. Instantly, I dived into the water and lifted Scott above the water, with a hand holding onto his shirt.

Laughter, I heard distinct laughter. He was laughing.

"What the hell were you playing at, Scott?" I squeaked, swimming to the poolside and pulling myself out of the water agilely. "Scott!"

He too leapt out the water in a similar manner to me. "Come on Riley- that was funny. You may have guts, but you're nowhere near strong enough against me. I saw a moment to catch you out in a panicked state and wanted to see how you reacted."

"It wasn't funny! You could have been really hurt!" I squealed, knowing that my voice was cracking at the end and I felt like I was acting far worse than the situation required. "Seriously Scott, that was so stupid of you." Without saying another word, I stormed back into the house, dripping all over the floor. I shut myself in my room and changed quickly into some dry clothes.

After a while, there was a knock at my door.

I opened it slowly. "What do you want?" I frowned at Scott on the other side of the door. "Because I'm still not happy with you…"

"Come on, I need a towel, I'm dripping outside your bedroom now, and Stella's jumping about like crazy and rolling in the water…"

"Fine…" I went out across to the airing cupboard and threw one of the spare towels at Scott. "You know where the bathroom is," I added solemnly, trying to make him feel bad for what he had done.

Stella was keen on following Scott into the bathroom of which I was not happy with. I barked her name and beckoned her to my side as the bathroom door was shut in her face and the key turned in the lock.

"You're a silly girl, aren't you?" I cooed at her, ruffling the fur around her neck and cuddling my little puppy.

As I waited for Scott to get out of the bathroom, I decided to dry a damp Stella off, which was a challenge in itself.

When Scott came out of the bathroom, he had the towel wrapped around his waist. Whilst I avoided staring at him, there was a clicking sound as the front door was about to be opened, so I lurched forwards and pulled Scott into my room.

"Well, it's not every day that that happens to you…" Scott mumbled to himself.

Whether or not he wanted me to hear that was another question, but we were so close to one another that it would have been hard for me not to have heard.

"Yeah? Well don't get any ideas… Because Nolan's back," I whispered, peering through the gap in the door to see Nolan walk into the house, turn around and usher Arnie inside.

"Who said I had any ideas?" Scott replied. Obviously eager to see what was going on, he came up close behind me, looking over the top of my head and not saying another word.

I would have watched for longer, but once Nolan and Archie had gone around the corner, I thought it wasn't worth risking anything and closed the door. Turning to face Scott, our eyes instantly locked onto one another.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, holding onto the towel as if I was going to whip it out of his grip at any moment.

I hadn't even moved since I turned.

"Oh quit being so tetchy – I'm not going to grab the towel… I just don't want Archie to see us, either of us, and you'll just draw attention to us if you got sauntering off into the bathroom for your clothes-" I paused, realising the problem. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh…" Scott murmured. "My clothes are in there and if Archie goes in there."

I shook my head, silencing him. "Nolan will get around it and think on his feet, have faith in him. I do…"

"Riley," he sighed. "I have no doubt in Nolan's ability to improvise, but I don't exactly want to sit in your room all night with nothing but a towel for cover."

"Give over… A guy like you, you must be confident in your body. I mean, look at your abs, it's like you've scored those lines across your stomach with a butter knife!"

Scott shied away, clearly feeling a little awkward, and I didn't hesitate in making it worse.

I tried to shed a humorous light on the situation. "Let's not worry about what happens when I get ready for bed, or when I get changed in the morning."

"The morning? You think Archie will stay the night?" His eyes went wide in disbelief. "No way, that's never going to happen."

"It might do… I don't know what Nolan is like, but I know that he'll do what it takes to get information out of Archie by any means possible. Even if I'd rather he got back with Louise, he's got to make his own decisions."

That night, Scott and I waited to see if Nolan would kick Archie out, but in all of the waiting, sleep got the better of me.

The fibres of a towel pressed against my cheek as I slowly woke up. My eyes flickered for a moment and I noticed the towel Scott was once wearing, had now been draped across my bed. The curtains hadn't even been closed and the sun was beginning to beam through the window.

As much as I wanted to stay in, or more on my bed, I was desperate to hear about Nolan's date with Archie.

Grabbing a change of clothes, I made my way to the kitchen where Nolan was hunched over his laptop with a coffee mug in one hand.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. "So spill the beans! How was your date?"

"Interesting, I managed to steer the conversation to a few of his most prized articles- one of which was Mrs Patterson's case…"

There was a fondness in his voice, but I didn't want to draw attention to it.

Nolan turned to face me. "I saw Scott sneaking out of your room though, I hope it's not what I think…"

My eyes widened and my cheeks were set on fire with a burning red. "It's not Nolan. Well anyway, that was your fault!"

"Hold on, how was it my fault?" he asked calmly.

"Be-because you brought Archie back he didn't think it would be a good idea to try and sneak out, so I guess he snuck out early this morning." I was keen to know more about Mrs Patterson's case. "Do you have any notes on the people behind Mrs Patterson's conviction?"

"I do," he replied, turning back to the computer. "But that also doesn't explain his lack of clothes…"

"Hey, leave it. Oh come on, stop pushing me out of the case stuff, Nolan. I'm helping and I need to know exactly what's going on, so let me catch up, please?"

"Alright…"

Nolan pulled out the drawer that I knew the bin lived in, which concerned me a little. I watched him thread his hand almost behind the bin and then pulled out a sealed wallet that had a paper file in it.

My hand reached out for it, but he moved it away and looked me square in the eye.

"This does not leave the house, not even outside. Or by the pool. And Stella stays far away from it… Deal?"

His voice was harsh and stern, so I knew he was being so unbelievably serious, that you couldn't even see the line that distinguished being serious and calm.

"Okay grumpy…" I growled, taking the file from his hand.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = So in the next chapter, we'll find out more about the people that caused Mrs Patterson to get arrested… AH!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Hurt

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Now let's see who was involved in sending Mrs Patterson down…

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 04**

"Like I said, no going outside or anywhere with this folder." Nolan frowned at me, before his phone began to ring. His hand went into his pocket and plucked his phone from it. "Red, my wonder-twin… Yes, okay- hang on, I'll be there in a bit." He looked at me with a concerned expression on his face. "L-"

"Louise needs you- you'll be back later tonight… It's okay Nolan," I said before he could tell me what I pretty much already knew. "What are you waiting for? Go already!"

Nolan nodded, stepping backwards towards the front door in shock. Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief. With the house to myself, I decided to plow through the files and documents of Mrs Patterson's trail that I had to practically prise out of my uncle's hands. I sat up at the kitchen island and opened the folder up to reveal a series of newspaper clippings, court notes, the trail documents, surveillance photographs, murder investigation photos, autopsy reports, bank statements from the company and also work signed off for by Mrs Patterson

"Right, let's process this one step at a time,"

I read the newspaper article that Arnie had written about Mrs Patterson. It was so aggressively written about Mrs Patterson – the chief financial officer of Hydra Corporation. As she was Scott's mother, it hurt to read all this horrible stuff about her – even though I had never met her. Reading the article did allow me to read more about the company that she worked for.

 **Person number one – Leonard Myers**

The man at the top of it – the chief executive officer of Hydra. A man named Leonard Myers. I was looking at Scott' mum, Trinity Patterson's boss. He was a man with salt and pepper coloured hair and piercing blue eyes that that looked even bluer than a holiday brochure photo of the Caribbean in Summer.

 **Link to the case:**

He phoned the cops, when he 'realised' that Scott's mum was embezzling money and taking from the company.

 _So Leonard Myers is the Conrad and Victoria Grayson of this case._ Whilst every inch of my body wanted to put the file away and go straight after Leonard Myers. What he had done was awful. To force someone into taking the fall- well, a dreadful accusation, into an unescapable corner.

 **Persons number two and three:**

Underneath Leonard Myers were two people. A man and a woman. Mitchell Casey and Karen Casey. They looked similar in a way so I assumed that they were just brother and sister, or some other kind of relations.

 **Link to the case:**

The court notes implied that these two were the ones who discovered the body that it was concluded that Trinity Patterson committed murder. The murder of-

"What the-?" I screamed in total surprise, on the verge of swearing. The name – it just surprised me more than anything. It was- it was so unbelievable. How could Scott, or Nolan- not tell me a thing about this? This was huge

It was Raymond Patterson. Trinity Patterson had been sent down for the murder of her own husband, her son's father. The murder had taken place in Raymond's office at the Hydra corporation. He was the company's CLO, the most experienced legal executive according to the reports. There were photos in the file that showed the scene of the murder. The office was in disarray – with positive signs of a violent struggle. Yellow numbered placards were dotted about the office. A single gun cartridge. A blood stained napkin. A screwed up receipt that was a dinner for two, paid by a credit card for a considerable sum of money. There was an empty photo frame shattered on the floor which was peculiar to me. It made me feel like whatever was in there was important, or it was a conflicting, compromising piece of evidence.

The notes concluded that the cause of death was two gunshots. One that ripped into Raymond's abdomen that would have made him bleed out if it weren't for the second shot that killed him on the spot.

I moved onto the court case reports.

 **Persons four, five and six**

People who gave evidence against Mrs Patterson included multiple people. Angela Share, the receptionist at Hydra. Shannon Fisher, an intern who was training as Leonard Myer's PA. Then there was Todd Bell, the man at Hydra who investigated the finances and accounts of the corporation where he found some discrepancies.

There were so many other people that contributed to the case. I could fill a few pages of a small notebook if I wanted, but Nolan didn't want me making any notes that could be found by someone.

"Hmm… Leonard Myers, Mitchell Casey, Karen Casey, Raymond and Trinity Patterson, Angela Share, Shannon Fisher, Todd Bell, Arnie Coople-"

A ringing phone sopped me in my tracks. Stella ran away, disappearing into the bathroom so I was about to follow her when I realised I had all the files out. What if someone broke into the house and stole some files? Well, every door is locked so there's no way anyone can get in.

Stella was barking quietly at the laundry basket. Peering down the side of it, I could see a phone. A phone that I didn't recognise. It certainly wasn't mine, and it sure as heck wasn't Nolan's. So I assumed it must have been Scott's from last night. Maybe it got kicked out of the way and forgotten about.

I picked up the phone delicately to see who was calling.

Bella was ringing, and not just Bella, but "Bella X" There was a kiss after her name.

Ow… It felt as though a sharp penknife had been jammed into my chest, slicing my heart. Deep down, it hurt because I thought Scott liked me. The little things made me feel that way. When he smiled at me, it wasn't a normal smile, it was a smile of a hundred words. Then there was the way that we go on so well and the fact that I really wanted to help with his mum's case was mainly to get to know him (and give me something to do.) But to know that he had a girlfriend, the lump in my throat was exploding out of my throat and I dropped the phone onto the fluffy rug beneath my feet, staggering backwards out the bathroom door. I began to choke as tears blurred my vision. Parts of me were only just beginning to realise just how much I liked him, because of the tears.

Maybe Bella was his sister? Maybe X was meant to be for her surname. I tried to tell myself a series of calming thoughts, but it was useless. _Bella is Scott's girlfriend, and I am just his friend…_

A whimper from Stella made me snap out of it and run to the kitchen where the folder was. Fortunately it was exactly as I had left it. Seeing as I had read it all, I took one last look at the corporation's annual photo at some formal event three, nearly four years ago.

From the names on the back of the photo, I saw Myer's wife, Susie and boy was she pretty. Long blonde hair. Bright blue eyes. A slender body that was concealed in a gorgeous, figure hugging and sparkling dress. I couldn't help but notice a distance between Leonard and Susie – clearly something had happened or was going on.

I memorised all the names of the people who were key to case and began to wonder what Nolan had to add to the case notes here. Crouching down by the bin, I popped the folder back behind it, like I had seen Nolan pull it out of. Stella leapt up at me, her paws pounding against my leg, but I wasn't in the mood right now. Even the name Stella just reminded me of the name Bella.

All those old feelings were coming back over Scott. I walked down the corridor to my room and curled up on my bed, facing away from the door. It was such a shock to the system. I closed my eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

"Hey, hey Riley… Wake up, Riley." Nolan was there, shaking my shoulders gently.

I slowly sat up and turned to face him.

"Wow, you look- dreadful," he added bluntly.

"Nolan!" I squeaked, rubbing my eyes. "No girl likes to hear that. I hope you never said that to Amanda, or Louise."

"You're just special." Nolan put his arm around me and pulled me close into this incredibly awkwardly orientated hug.

Holding back the tears, I gripped his shoulder a little tighter.

"What's wrong? You know Scott's here and he's going to want to chat about Archie and some other stuff. So why don't you come and have dinner with us?"

"I don't want to…"

"Did something happen last night, Riley? If it did, I can ask him to meet me at the beach club?"

My chin quivered as the sick feeling in my stomach resurfaced. "He's done nothing wrong – I was just being naïve. I thought, I thought he might have like me, Nolan, but I was just being stupid."

"Hey, you're not being stupid, but Scott is different to how you know him. He's not exactly the golden child that he makes himself out to be. Trust me, I've seen his womanising side and it put even me to shame."

"Okay, I'll come have dinner…" I sighed, getting off the bed to see Stella trying to jump up onto the bed. "Sorry Stella, but you can't come up onto the bed. No you can't. Come on." I clicked my fingers loudly and she followed me, a little more in front of me than I would have liked, but she was getting good at coming when I called for her. "Come on Stella, let's get you some dinner!"

She knew exactly what I was going to give her as she bounded to the door of the cupboard that the food tins were kept in. Emptying out a tin of her favourite flavour, I found Scott looking straight at me.

"You okay?" I asked him, breaking the awkwardly excruciatingly painful silence that Nolan was caught in the middle of.

Scott smiled. "Yeah, I'm good and eager to hear what Nolan and Archie got up to last night…" He tilted his head towards Nolan. "Because he was still here when I left, and I left really late."

"Or really early, depending on how you look at it," I added quite coldly. "He could ask you the same though."

"But if there's nothing to tell, then it's really only Nolan who neds to spill the beans," Scott replied, raising an eyebrow at me. "I think the question I should have asked first is, are you okay?"

I contemplated my answer, until I settled on going straight for the kill. "Well, I'm fine, but enough about me. The real question is, how is Bella?"

His eyes grew wide and he began to cough. "What? How do you-"

"You left your phone in the bathroom and Bella called…" I explained calmly.

Scott nodded slowly. "Bella is good actually. She really wants us to find a place of our own, and I'm thinking that somewhere in this neighbourhood might be good for us. It's at the top end of the market and I've got plenty of money as a result of-"

"Because your dad died, I know. That's harsh, but good if it means that you and Bella will get to move on in your relationship."

"Riley…" Nolan whispered, putting a dish down in front of me.

Scott picked up his fork and began to tuck into his dinner. "I wanted to ask you something Riley… If that's okay."

"Yeah, what is it?" I smiled forcefully, grateful for the fact that he had admitted who Bella was and that I now knew the truth. Now that I did, I could move on. "You can ask me anything, you know that."

"I want to know if you'll come look at some houses with me, because I need a female perspective on everything, and you are exactly what I need."

The way he said that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you what happened last night, because we all know it's what you both want to hear more than anything…" Nolan said, making Scott and I break eye contact. "Archie seems keen. He wants to meet again."

"Be careful, Nolan," I replied in a calm and collective manner. "Please."

"I'll be fine, Riley. Trust me, I can take care of all of this. You know I won't get too carried away and caught up in it all."

"Just watch yourself," I murmured slowly. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

Nolan nodded a little, admitting he understood that I meant that it was going to apply to me as well. "Well, I've arranged a little something with him next week so I will let you know what happens."

Later on that week, I had a chance to cool off after finding out that the guy I had a huge crush on, actually had a girlfriend. Out of nowhere, I bought myself an old car – it may have been a few years old, but it served its purpose, even if it looked diabolical next to Nolan's swanky car. The fact I had a car now meant that I didn't need to be driven about by Nolan, or even a taxi call every five minutes because I want to go into the centre of town.

Not seeing Scott gave me some much needed space, but I had agreed to help him look at some houses and apartments. Even if they were for him and Bella.

I grabbed a casual little summer dress and tiny bag that contain the bare minimum. "See you later Nolan. I would say don't do anything I wouldn't do, but that is a whole different story!"

"Alright, let me know what I'm having dinner…" he called back.

I leant back, looking to see him around the corner. "What?"

"You're cooking dinner tonight, and that is that."

Stella barked cheerfully at me, almost ushering me out the door.

"Hey, okay Stella, I'm going, I'm going…" I ruffled her ears and then left the house, slowly shutting the door behind me.

In the car, it was amazing to get to drive myself about on the long roads that stretched for miles. At least, this time, I was only going a short drive. As I found a convenient little parking space, my phone began to ring. It was an unknown number. I didn't know much of it, so I answered it instantly.

"Hello?"

No answer, just the gentle, deep breathing on the other end of the phone.

"Hello?" I repeated. "I know you're there, I can hear your breathing. Honestly…"

Still no answer.

A knock on the window to my left startled me and accidentally made me disconnect the call.

"Scott! You startled me!" I said, laughing like a little girl, feeling he blood rush to my cheeks. Stepping out of the car, I noticed Scott's expression brighten up. Commendation to my wardrobe choice I assume. "How are you?" I smiled, putting my arms around him. Pulling him close, I hugged him for a split moment.

"Well I'm good, are you ready to look at some places?"

I nodded, but it was still really hard to get to grips with the fact that I was doing this as Scott's friend and not his girlfriend. Thoughts crossed my mind as to what was on Scott's mind.

"Yeah – I might find somewhere that I like, for myself I mean. Nolan's place is great, but it's not my home. Being un-" I nearly spoke about the one thing that I promised Nolan that I would never speak about ever. Witness protection. "Being there isn't the same – he may be someone who's taken me in, but I want to stand on my own two feet for once. You must know the feeling right?"

"I know the exact feeling." Scott nudged me up the path. "Come on, the realtor is inside this one. It's a little apartment on the fourth floor. Plus it's got a spare room that we can renovate into a studio for Bella's portfolio – fashion related stuff."

"Nice, so how did you and Bella meet?" I asked, walking up the spiralling staircase.

My nose was hit with the smell of an air freshener which had been sprayed recently, most likely to cover up some musky and horrible smell that was bursting through the stairwell. We passed a door that had been painted a dark brown colour and another that was simply a wood door. The wallpaper was so smooth and didn't have an air bubble or crease in sight, which I was in admiration of because if I had done it, then it would have been a disaster.

"Here we are – apartment eight." Scott knocked on the whitewash door and waited for an answer.

The realtor answered the door and allowed us to enter. It was a small and dinky little apartment, but it was really warm and open. I hadn't ever since a small space that had harnessed all this welcoming energy. There were two doors at the far end that were the empty pristine studio room for Bella and then their bedroom too.

Seeing as it wasn't to Scott's taste, I urged us to move on through the next few houses or apartments. The first one was definitely at the bottom of the pile, but the fourth house really stood out to me, and Scott. As soon as we walked into the house, I said exactly what was on my mind.

"I lov-"

"I love it…" Scott murmured keenly.

We looked at each other with wide eyes and burst out laughing. My hand placed itself onto his shoulder as the realtor smiled broadly.

"So does this mean that you want it because your girlfriend wants it?"

The laughter continued until I manage to compose myself for a moment.

"We're not together, we're… We're… Just friends." Saying that for myself made me kind of accept it more than I had done so, which was good because it would help me get over him. I was just one of those people that made an attachment to people way too quickly, which is probably why I got so upset when I found out Scott had a girlfriend.

The house was like a bungalow with the main bedroom and a small balcony up a small spiralling staircase. A beautiful patio that I could see myself having a table and chairs, a hammock, or a swinging garden chair on it. There was a gate that led down to the beach, but it was a whole other beach to the one near Ellis House.

As we came to leave the house, it was just me and Scott.

"So are you going for the house then?" I asked him.

"I might do – I like it the best and we can convert the spare room for Bella's studio, and the beach could give us some romantic evenings. The sea and the sand, what more could I ask for?"

"Well it's a good house…"

"You said you loved it – does this mean we're going to have a little bidding war on our hands?" Scott smiled, turning to face me as he leant back against his car.

"No, of course not, Scott. It was you who we were looking for a house for. So it's your house…"

"Are you sure?"

 _Of course not, I want the house for myself._

"What are you waiting for? Go and make an offer tomorrow. The sooner, the better! Plus, I said I'd cook Nolan dinner soo… I better go." Holding my key up, I sort of waved at him. "Do you want to come for dinner?"

"Dinner? I've already been at Nolan's house once, I don't think I should pay another visit. _Plus,_ I have also got to put the scare factor onto our little intern."

"Angela Fisher?" I said, not so sure if that was the right answer.

"Nope- Shannon Fisher, but you got the surname right!" He laughed loudly as I opened the car door. "You're really, you're a good friend, Riley. See you later…"

"Yeah, bye Scott," I mumbled, climbing into the car and driving home.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Wow! What an information dump there! What with Riley reading the files about Mrs Patterson, and Scott's house hunting for him and Bella, what is in store for Nolan's niece?**


	5. Chapter 5 - Uncertainty

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: What did you think of the last chapter? I mean, there's so much to think about- Nolan and Arnie, Scott and Bella, and then there's Riley.

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 05**

Leonard Myers, Mitchell Casey, Karen Casey, Trinity Patterson, Raymond Patterson, Angela Share, Shannon Fisher, Todd Bell, Arnie Coople, and then there were so many smaller cogs to the whole mechanism of the Hydra Corporation plot.

I hadn't had the chance to talk to Scott about it all, but I knew that he was a little preoccupied spending time with Bella. Seeing all those houses and apartments with him was tough, but I loved spending time with him. It was chilling when we both fell in love with the last house – that house was perfect, it was the kind of house I could imagine living in before upsizing to a bigger one so that I could have kids, and with it being on the beach front, what more could anyone want?

Admittedly, it had gotten a little lonely in the Hamptons, so I tried to go out and meet some people seeing as the only two people I knew in the Hamptons were a little too engaged in relationships of their own. Nolan had been out on another date with Arnie and didn't return until the next morning. When I asked him if he had learnt anything about the case, he told me that Arnie is sensitive and refuses to open up that much so it was going to be a difficult, excruciatingly long process.

He and Louise invited me to the site of Grayson Manor – Nolan had shown me pictures of the glorious Grayson Manor which had left me thinking that it made the Campbell Compound look like a suburban house. Grayson Manor was soon to become Ellis House.

As I pulled up beside Nolan's car at the site, construction was already underway. Scaffolding was covering whatever work had been done and the walls were beginning to form the foundation of the house. Shouts and orders were being thrown about the site that made me feel a little outnumbered on the gender front as I strode towards the temporary office that Louise had told me to meet her and Nolan at. The wind gently blew through my sleeveless cardigan, making me shiver a little when I reached the door.

Inside, Nolan greeted me with a warm hug and told me he had good news, but I told him that it could wait and that I needed to focus on Louise.

"Okay, hit me with it…" I said, looking down at a number of blueprints, sketches and floorplans of Ellis House that were on a small desk to one side of the temporary office. "Oh- right. You seem to have everything in motion already… So why am I here?"

Nolan and Louise looked at each other and smiled, unable to control themselves. No wonder they were called the Wonder Twins. The look they gave each other only made me want to tell them to just get married again for everyone's sake.

"Riley, it seems that you've caused quite a stir in conversation in The Hamptons. All positive none the less, but it means that you're being hunted-" Louise said with a joyous tone that didn't suit the word 'hunted'.

"What do you mean, hunted?" I asked, holding the gentle quiver in my voice back as much as I could. "Is it my dad- is he coming after me?" My hand ran itself through my hair. "I have to go- I got to pack my stuff… I can take Stella and go to California, I've a friend in California and-"

"Hold on Riley, hold on. It's not what she means…" Nolan said, calming me down a little.

"Seriously though, you can't say things like that Lou," I sighed, placing a hand on my chest and taking a deep breath. "But before you all get carried away talking about this hunted business, I have something I need to get off my chest. Okay. So when I went to see these houses with Scott, I got a phone call from an unknown number and they didn't say anything… Should I be worried?"

Louise laughed a little. "Why no silly, that's perfectly normal. It happens to me all the time!"

The way Nolan looked at me made me think otherwise. He instantly grabbed me and pulled me out the office, shouting his goodbye to Louise.

"Nolan, what is it? You're scaring me…" I pulled my wrist from his grip. "Nolan?" My hands were shaking. "Am I in danger? And don't lie to me either!"

"I don't know, but I don't want to hang around to find out. Back home we can see if we can trace or block any unknown numbers from your phone." Nolan walked around to his car and looked back at the foundations of Ellis House. "It's going to be quite the house when it's finished… Meet you back at the house Riley."

"Okay Nolan." I drove hastily back to the house, worried that every car behind me was following me. It was a nightmare and my emotions were running high- all because of how terrified Nolan had reacted.

When I got to the house, Stella threw herself at me in her usual hyperactive mood. It made me feel awful as she squealed and whimpered to get all the love and affection that she could get from me in that moment.

"Come on cheeky, let's not go overboard." I forced myself to look up and avoided the flurry of licks as I bent down to rub her mottled tummy. "I love you too."

Nolan wasn't home yet, though he left quicker than I did, which only made me panic a little.

"The T.V- I will watch the news or something."

" _Police have been left astounded after an attack took place last night. Shannon Fisher, a young woman in her twenties who had been working as an intern in the Hydra Corporation of which investigations have been undergoing recently as embezzlement accusations occur, but the young intern was found raped last night in Montauk. Now, she is in critical condition in the ICU at a nearby Hospital. Searches and an information hotline have been opened and the police are pleading for anyone who has information, to step forwards in order to find Miss Fisher's attacker."_

I gasped in fear. The last time I had spoken to Scott, he had gone to intimidate Shannon Fisher, but would he have gone all the way as to doing that? The front door opened and Nolan slipped inside, locking the door behind him.

"Riley?" he said, seeing this look of panic on my face. "What's wrong?"

"Look…" I pointed at the television screen with images of a bruised woman next to the pristine image of the same woman before the incident. "Scott said he was going to intimidate her, but would he really do that? Nolan, is he capable of doing that? Would he go that far?" I bombarded him with all of these questions, but I had no idea if he even knew the answer to these questions. "Because if he is, are you sure that you are safe getting involved in his mother's case?"

"Breathe Riley… I don't know, but I need to know the answer…" Nolan took the house phone off the wall and dialled a number. "Scott- I think you need to come over," he paused for effect. "Now!"

Admittedly, I flinched at my uncle snapping. "What about the phone call?" I asked, trying to make sure that everything was covered and handled at one point.

"Don't worry Riley, I'll handle it…" Nolan murmured, his gaze fixed on the television screen. "I don't know what the answer is, but Scott will have an explanation. He seemed a little too relaxed on the phone for my liking."

"Relaxed!? Are you kidding me? They could arrest him if they find out!" I yelled angrily. "Nolan, he's dangerous… Only if he did that to Shannon, do you think he did that to her?"

"Well he did tell you he was going to intimidate her yesterday, so the answer appears to be yes, though I am not a hundred per cent convinced that he would go that far…"

"It looks like neither of us knows the real Scott," I replied, staring out the windowed wall to the side of the house. "I better call Stella back in, it's getting a little too windy for my liking and I would rather she stayed inside, where it's warmer for my little pup." Opening the door, I called out for Stella and waited. "Stella, come on, here girl!" I whistled sharply for her to come, but she didn't seem to come. "Nolan, you didn't let Stella in, did you?" Part of me knew that he hadn't, but I wanted to know for sure.

"No, are you sure she's out there?"

I couldn't believe Nolan was asking me this. "Of course I'm sure. Oh god, oh god, what if she's been dognapped and I never see her again. Nolan, I'm so sorry- she was a present from you and I just lost her."

"Don't be so melodramatic- she'll come back…"

Leaving the door open, I hoped that she would come back, yet I still noticed when Nolan shut the door and turned the key in the lock. I sat down cross legged on the sofa and tried some old heaving breathing yoga exercise thing that me and Mum had always done. Mum and I loved yoga and an instructor would come to our house every week on a Wednesday afternoon because we had very little to do. It was something Dad insisted on, we were designed to socialise and not work due to the success that his companies had created.

"Riley, Scott's here," Nolan warned me. "You better have an explanation…" he added menacingly as I assumed he answered the front door. "Get in."

Scott let out an awkward laugh. "What's up Nolan?"

"Look," Nolan said in a similar tone to the one I had used on him earlier. "It's on the news. I won't jump to conclusions just yet, but Riley said that you went to go 'intimidate' Shannon Fisher, but did you do that?" He spoke in a low and slow tone that echoed the severity of the situation.

Scott's mouth dropped and his eyes grew wide. "You, you think I would do that? No, no, nah… I wouldn't do that. All I did was scare her a little, you know, guy in a mask watching her from afar. She sees it and panics. Really- you guys think I would do that?"

I stepped towards him. "That's not what we're saying Scott. No, not ever… But we need to know for sure. One hundred per cent."

"That's not something I would do. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't go that far, yet…"

A little disgusted, I stepped back and looked at Scott, quickly adding. "Are you saying that in the future, that you would go that far?"

"I- Riley, I don't know. This whole process of proving my mum's innocence, I don't know how far I'll go. It depends on what it might do to contribute to getting Mum out of prison."

Something was bugging me – a question I couldn't seem to shake it off since I had read the papers on the people responsible for sending Trinity Patterson down.

"Does your mum know what you're doing, Scott?" I asked, facing Scott whilst my gaze darted between the two guys. "Scott?"

"She knows I want to get her out, but maybe not the lengths I've been or am going to. I didn't do that to Shannon Fisher, I would never go that far but I need to see her. Perhaps by extending the hand of friendship, that I can get the real truth out of her."

"Are you sure, Scott?" Nolan asked. "There's no way you can just storm into a hospital and act like the saviour in white… Shannon might know who you are."

"She won't."

"But what if she saw a photo of you on either one of you parent's desks?" I added. "Think about what might happen if you blow your cover. All the work could be for nothing."

Scott's mouth twitched as he tried to think of something to say that might overrule what I had presented him with. "Then… Then you, or you, Nolan… One of you guys can be like a charity representative and say hello to her, be the friend she needs or never had."

My eyes rolled about in their sockets. "Scott – stop. Slow down, you need to back off of Shannon Fisher. Someone might suspect that you're the culprit returning to the scene of the crime or something like that. It's not worth the risk."

The doorbell silenced Scott and when I heard a familiar bark, I laughed as I ran to the door. Stella may have been intelligent but I had no idea that she was going to be able to ring the doorbell, unless…

"Wow…" I murmured looking at a wet man wearing a tartan shirt over a vest top. His shirt bulged considerably and a small white furry head poked itself out as if it sensed me nearby. "Stella!" I squealed, flinging the door open wide. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I added, taking Stella out from his shirt without even thinking about how comfortable the guy may have been. "Thank you so much." My face was now being attacked by wet little licks as she jumped up my chest to get to my face. "Stella!"

"I thought this was the right house," the guy said, smiling at me. "What a cutie."

"Well I know she is, that's why I love her even more…" I replied, rubbing her fluffy fur.

"No, no. I didn't quite mean the dog," he replied, looking down at his feet.

"Oh."

 _Oh! Is that all that I could say? This really nice, cute guy just complimented me, told me I was a cutie and my reply to him was, 'oh.' Say something else, Riley! Quick._

"I'm Riley!" I grinned, trying to hold one hand out to him.

"It's alright- Leo." He held him own hand out and shook the air in a jokey kind of way. "Listen, I don't really normally do this, but I don't normally meet a pretty girl like this. Do you maybe want to go out on a date or something? It's alright if you don't want to, I'll understand. I mean, we just met, if this counts as meeting."

My body just took control without my brain's permission and I moved towards Leo and kissed his cheek. Then felt my cheeks go bright red.

"Is that a yes?" Leo asked, a little stunned.

I nodded. "How does tomorrow sound?"

"Tomorrow sounds – tomorrow sounds really good. Shall I come pick you up or-?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan… I'll see you then."

I watched Leo walk slowly down the path, around the hedge at the end and disappearing out of sight. Kissing Stella's head, I felt so nervous all of a sudden. Not in a million years did I expect to find a cute guy that would ask me out on a date.

"You are something else, Riley…" Nolan murmured. "Truly something else. He's not bad either."

"Stop trying to hold in the laughter!" I snapped, seeing him stifle the laughter. "How else do you expect for me to meet new people around here?"

Scott remained silent for a while and then immediately set about detracting from the previous events. "Let's talk about what we all know for my mum's case… Nolan, you say Arnie isn't struggling financially or anything?"

"Well, no-"

"So do you think he would be paid to write a phony article?"

The discussion went back and forth between the pair of them to which I listened a little, until I got distracted at the thought of Leo and our first date tomorrow- I didn't even know what time he would pick me up. At the end of the discussion, I felt as though Nolan was holding back something about Arnie. Something relevant, but Scott didn't seem to pick up on it. Instead, he left, saying he needed time to think.

Nolan and I were a little shocked that he was so abrupt and verging on desperate to leave.

"Did he seem a bit-" I started, but Nolan had the end of the sentence.

"Jealous – it was hard to miss…"

"Really- I thought it was just me thinking that."

The next evening, Leo came to the door and I was ready for what our first date would hold for us.

"Hi…" he said as I opened the front door.

"Hey- see you later, Nolan!" I called through the house, ignoring his inappropriate comment about stay safe in multiple ways. "So where to?"

"I'm not one for grand outings and dates and such, so I thought a takeout on the beach front?"

 _Wow, this is perfect. Leo has picked my best first date ever. Hot food on the beach? What more could I ask for?_

"Cool, lead on my good man."

Instead of driving, he walked me to this tiny little food hut that was on the beach front – at this point, I was incredibly thankful for the flats I had chosen to wear. The food hut was serving, fish and chips today. It had a daily menu on a black chalkboard. When I saw what was available on Fridays, my mood may have dropped a little – pizza. But fish and chips was just as good. Especially when they were nice and fluffy inside- and thick cut, not of this French fries business that I had disliked ever since I first tried them. Leo grabbed up a portion of chip and led me back outside.

"Where are we go-"

"Outside onto the beach, back to nature…" His hand held onto mine, interlocking our fingers.

Leo and I sat down on the beachfront and ate the chips – they were pretty good for the French fries style of chips, but not quite the best I had ever had. The company made up for it. He told me about his childhood, and how he wanted to separate himself from his parents and start fresh, how he wanted to be a photographer. When I asked about his parents, he said he didn't really want to talk about them – he joked that he would have been emancipated from his parents if that made a difference, but it didn't. They were successful people – that's all he told me.

"What about you? We've spent most of the evening talking about me, but all I want to talk about is you. What about your childhood? Tell me something about yourself."

 _What do I tell him? The real truth and that my name is Michelle Campbell, daughter of hotel entrepreneur Jordan Campbell, or do I make up the truth and imagine what Riley Osborne's childhood would have been?_

"I was a good kid who focused on results, but puberty and family stuff made everything really difficult and my grades plummeted… As a result of this, I couldn't go on to college or university. Then my parents died and I was entrusted to stay with my uncle, Nolan-"

 _No, no, no. Please tell me that I did not just say Uncle in that sentence… Nolan's going to kill me if he finds out._

"Now, I'm just trying to find my feet and get a job – establish myself with a life in the Hamptons."

"That makes two of us then."

The sun slowly began to disappear over the horizon and Leo and I had to creep up the sand to get away from the approaching tide every so often. Our first date was amazing – it had certainly take the edge off the last few days and it felt like things were starting to look up for me. It seemed as though Leo and I were matched nicely and I couldn't wait to see what was in store for our relationship.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = So as I was planning this chapter, I had multiple key events that I wanted to happen but had no idea how to interconnect them, so I hope it wasn't too erratic in terms of this chapter's flow! What do you think of this new instalment?**


	6. Chapter 6 - Instinct

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Riley is moving on from Scott, but it doesn't mean that she's cut herself out of the investigation – she's still hands on deck for now, but we continue this story, months down the line when a shocking newsreport put everything in jeopardy.

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 06**

Months had passed since my first date with Leo, and things were moving so pleasantly for us. Admittedly, introducing him to Nolan was one of the most nerve-racking things I had ever had to do, but the pair seemed to get on really well so I left them to it. Though once Leo left, Nolan was all for making sure I was okay. On the other hand, Stella never really took a likening to Leo- it was peculiar seeing as it was him who brought her back to me. It was clear that all Stella wanted to do was play with Scott whenever he was around.

Leo was keen to develop his photography skills and was keen to photograph me, but I refused because the paranoia in me said that I would have no control over what would happen to the images. There was a reason I was under witness protection and I wouldn't want to put myself in danger if my father were to find me again. The work that he did showed just how ruthless he was. He wasn't like a father figure should be. Which is part of why I was forced into hiding.

On the six month anniversary of Riley and Leo, we ended up on a double date with Scott and Bella. I don't really know how that happened – it just did. In a jokey way, I suggested that Leo should use Bella as his model and subject for some photography portfolio. Even if it meant adding to Bella's modelling portfolio. So I suggested that we had dinner as two pairs.

Bella seemed like a nice enough girl, with rosey cheeks and cropped firey hair that hovered above her shoulders. Whilst she was rather ditzy, she had a fire to her- much like my own. She was flirty, especially towards Scott, Leo – even the waiter for our table.

"So Riley," Bella started, eyeing me up as she sat diagonally opposite. "Are you envious of mine and Scott's new house? He told me you really like it too and kudos to you because so do I… Obviously my boyfriend picked the right person to help…"

I guffawed, caught off by her remark. "Oh, I wouldn't say envious." My eyes looked across me and looked deep into Scott's brown eyes. "Because I know that together, you and Scott will love that house on the beach front."

"Wow- alright then… I wasn't expecting those heart found words of someone who's fallen in love with him – don't worry, I don't mind, because that spot is already reserved for me thank you very much." She pressed her lips against Scott's cheek, forcing me to avert my gaze.

Leo added to the near silent conversation. "You know what Bella, I think Riley is right. You'd make a really good test subject for my portfolio. Really, I mean it. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Of course! We'll make each other famous or something. Wouldn't that be great, Scott?"

Bella's boyfriend nodded slowly though it was clear that he wasn't a hundred per cent set on the idea.

Before I had the chance to say anything, I heard my phone ring. It was one of the numbers that Nolan used when he didn't want the call to be traced.

"Sorry Leo, I have to get this," I said, kissing his cheek before moving away from the table. "Nolan, what's wrong?"

"Listen really carefully, because I don't know how much time you have left. You have to get Scott out of town, right now. Wherever you are, you have to. Don't ask why-"

Feeling my heart beating even in my eyes, I had to say something. "No- Nolan, you have to tell me the truth. Why?"

"Riley!"

"Nolan, please…" I urged the truth from him. "Tell me the truth."

"The police, they think they have something on Scott regarding the incident with Shannon Fisher, so take Scott and go cold turkey…"

Cold turkey? I nodded in an understanding way, even if I knew Nolan wouldn't see this.

Nolan disconnected the call before I could try and talk him around – they probably just had minimal evidence, but I couldn't take any chances. But even so, how could I ask that Scott come with me without Bella or Leo being suspicious?

"Hey guys, listen. Scott and I have to go – emergency, but this has been a great evening. Dinner was absolutely fantastic."

"But I thought you were coming to stay at my apartment tonight?" Leo looked up at me with a sheer puppy dog expression.

"Don't look at me like that, I have to…" Leaning forwards, I kissed Leo's lips and felt his hand at the back of my head that held me for longer. "I'll talk to you later…"

"Yeah, see you later," I mustered up as a reply. "Scott, are you coming? I really need your help."

Scott was by my side in a second, but Bella was having none of it and started to kick off in the middle of the restaurant. Eyes turned to see what the commotion is about as Bella screamed horrendous sentences I wouldn't ever say to my worst enemy. About how jealous I was of her, and how she knew that Scott and I were up to something behind her back. How obscenely obvious we were being. It was like she was accusing me of having an affair with her boyfriend. Which was still absurd.

"Bella, calm down. I have to go. I'll call you later tonight, okay?" Scott tried to calm her down.

The kiss that Scott and Bella shared was so harsh and almost spiteful that I felt sorry for her as she almost clung to him for more in the hope that he would stay with her and not leave with me.

"Scott- we have to leave." I gripped his wrist and pulled him away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Leo successfully calm Bella down and offer her a glass of champagne that we had ordered. I couldn't help but notice a familiarity between the two of them, but I decided to ignore it.

The street outside was calm and I hurried over to my car, incredibly thankful for being tonight's designated driver, and that I also had a sports bag of clothes and necessities for my first night at Leo's apartment.

"Okay, it's one thing to lock me in your room, but it's another to abduct me from a perfectly nice evening dinner. What's going on Riley?"

"Just get in the car, now."

Scott obliged and climbed into the car and momentarily seemed somewhat impressed at its immaculate state.

"Nolan called me saying that he has reason to believe that the police may have found evidence which connects you to the incident that happened to the intern… We're going into hiding."

Scott opened the car door just as I had started to drive off. He got out of the car like it wasn't even moving.

"Come on, Scott. Get in the car, please!" I was feeling so desperate as he walked out into the empty road. This was me accepting that I – like Nolan – had now become an accessory of a sort that had been harbouring Scott from the authorities. "We have to leave now!"

"And go where!" he shouted, walking towards me as I got out my little car. "Where are we going to go?"

"To a place that I have, alright?" I screeched back, angry by his reluctance to just come with me. "You bought the bungalow with her after I withdrew my offer, so that you would be happy with her. With the money I had, I- I bought a safe house – just in case, okay?" I coughed, feeling a lump in my throat. "Come on, please just get in the car…"

Our faces were nearly touching, which made me hold back any urges I had to lurch forwards and throw myself at him, but I just reminded myself of Leo. Scott and I were friends, but recently, I just couldn't deny the chemistry that was clearly present whenever we were around each other.

I smacked my forehead with my hand before climbing back into the car and waiting for Scott to come along.

"I'm sorry…" Scott whispered, slowly sitting down and fastening their seat belt. "Let's go then..."

Flustered by his quick change of heart, I fumbled for my words. "What about clothes? Your stuff, anything…"

"Leave it behind, we'll be back soon anyway."

"Okay."

The small ski chalet I had bought was a long drive away and once I had my little car parked under the shelter, I set about finding the spare key. As it had been so long since I had come to the chalet, I had actually typically forgotten about the location of the key. I had left it there in case I couldn't go with Scott to it.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked as I started to brush the dirt away from the plants by the door.

"I'm looking for the key." I heard a light click and metallic creek which I ignored. "It as to be here somewhere."

"You mean hidden inside this little lantern light here?" Scott chuckled to himself, holding up a key as he was totally unable to keep the smile off his face. "Let's see your lovely home then?"

"Yeah," I grunted as I reached out for my bag on the back seat.

"What's all of this?" Scott asked from inside the house.

 _Oh no. Oh dear. Why didn't I think of this beforehand?_

I joined Scott in the house – he was standing in front of the sleek wooden chest of drawers that was further up the corridor from the front door. On this chest were a few photo frames containing pictures that I shouldn't have left there. One of my family- the Campbell family – it was one of our annual photo shoots from a few years ago. Another photo was of me and Stella sitting on Nolan's front step. Then there was also a photo of Nolan and baby Michelle and the last picture was of me, Nolan and Scott that had been taken at a social event at the Hamptons Beach Club. Before saying anything, I dived into one of the bedrooms and picked out a basic outfit to wear.

"What's all this?" Scott asked again, looking at me.

"It's nothing… Just a few photos I like a lot."

"How come there aren't any photos of you and Leo?" One of Scott's eyebrows rose a little, before looking back at the frames. "Oh…"

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head to indicate he wasn't going to tell me. "So what does Nolan think they have on me?"

"I don't know… Hang on, I'll call him with the secure line."

Scott stepped back and watched me set up the laptop to video conference my uncle with some special software a friend of his in California had developed for him. The dots grew and shrank on the screen as we waited for him to answer. Eventually he picked up, but I saw Arnie in the background and shoved Scott aside feebly.

"Nolan!" I exclaimed cheerfully before dropping to a harsh but positive tone. "What's going on?"

"Riley- how are you? How's the vacation?" he asked, leaning towards the screen of his laptop. "Must be cold, right?"

"Erm, sort of…" I murmured, trying to keep the conversation going, but confused as to why Arnie was there.

At the house.

"Is this her – the famous ward of Nolan Ross?" Arnie asked, pushing his black square rimmed glasses further up his nose.

My hand reached out and felt for the pen and paper beside the laptop. Without looking and keeping my gaze and attention on the screen, I scribbled a note down.

 _Arnie knows something about Shannon incident._

"Yeah – all the way from the snowy mountains!" I squealed in a faked delight. "And no before you ask, my skiing has not improved at all. There's a reason I'm paying an instructor you know."

Arnie smiled. "Let's hope he's cute – I had a friend that worked in the mountains and boy, those ski instructors are something else…"

"Well it's good that you're getting out of the house, but Arnie's had a long day at work and we have a reservation to attend, so we better get going. I'll call you tomorrow." Nolan smiled weakly, winking once and then shutting the laptop.

"You can let go of my hand now…" Scott whispered in my ear. "Riley?"

"Sorry – the stress may have gotten to me there. I'm going to drive into town and buy some food for dinner," I replied quickly, grabbing my key and leaving out the door we had come in not that long ago.

"Wait Riley," Scott said, standing in the doorway.

"Don't say anything Scott, because I don't think I will be able to ignore what you say or do."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his fingers touched mine and I recoiled a little. "Don't-"

"Scott," I said, turning around to face him. "I don't know what to say or do whenever I'm with you."

"And I felt the same. I was about to break up with Bella and do something, but then you changed your mind and started dating Leo."

Taken aback, I fought to find the right words to say. "Stop it. I started dating Leo because you were in a relationship with Bella that you failed to mention! How is this situation, this thing between us my fault?"

"It's not your fault, and it's not mine either. But me and Bella is just cover."

"Cover!? What for? You seem to be pretty serious to me, going to buy the house that I fell in love with! Agreeing to go on a double date with me and Leo. Being all over Bella whenever you were together. Honestly! Everything you do and it's still like, like-" I didn't want to say the next thing, because I knew I would regret it, but then Scott finished my sentence for me.

"Like I have feelings for you…"

Silence crackled between us, I backed away a little from him. The odd insect or bird call filled my ears, but it was still so quiet.

"I- I'm sorry- I have to go back home… I shouldn't be here with you now- Scott, I'm with Leo and you're with Bella despite the fact you say it's for 'cover'. I need for you to not act on your feelings now because I'm in a really, really good place with Leo and think things could work out between us. I have to go, but I will make sure Nolan lets you know when it's safe to come out of hiding."

Without listening for a reply, I got into the car and drove off. My eyes flicked down and my mood dropped when I saw the amount of gas in my car. At the next gas station, I pulled over and filled up my car. I felt the need to grab a coffee at the little diner that was attached to the smooth corner shop of the petrol station. The lady who handed me my cup was a fairly stout woman with dull and greying ginger coloured hair that had been styled in these thick pin curls. She wore a little white apron over a rather off putting brown dress that a gold badge was hanging from with the name "Annie" emblazoned on in a dull black font.

"You alright, darling?" she asked, leaning over the counter.

 _What do you even say when a total stranger asks how you are?_

"There is a lot going on at the moment, and whilst guys were never an issue for me when I was a kid and a teenager, but it seems a switch has just changed and I have found myself caught between two incredibly amazing guys. One of whom I've known for a long time, been friends for so long and when I first met him, I felt something incredible and he's nearly always on my mind – he's one of the first things I think of whenever I wake up in the morning. The other was like a godsend when I first met him and I have loved every moment of our relationship, but I don't want to hurt either guy." My hand cupped over my mouth. "Sorry, you shouldn't have to hear what's going on and listen."

"Don't worry about it sweetie, that's part of my job. So what's the other guy's name – the one that isn't your boyfriend?"

"Erm, Scott…"

"Oh really? Well, don't mind me prying for information from you. At least you've managed a smile. Besides, I've got a daughter who's probably a little older than you are, and she's had her fair share of guy troubles, but she's finally found a guy she's happy with. Not that I've met him, but I'll relish in the moment where I do."

"Looks like we've both got a lot to think about."

Annie was then called away to serve another customer so I took my chance to leave.

I drove to Nolan's where I then realised that I shouldn't really have gone there – knowing that Nolan probably wouldn't want me pitching up like nothing had happened, like I wasn't supposed to be helping Scott lie low.

Now I would have to go and stay at Leo's.

At least he was pleased to see me when I got there – but I was that tired that I went to sleep as soon as I got there. Although I knew it was just me, I could have sworn I heard a woman's voice in the apartment when I was in the bathroom, but Leo told me it was the film he was watching.

The next morning, I headed back home.

"What are you doing here?" Nolan asked, folding his arms slowly, but when he noticed my expression drop, he looked more concerned than ever. "Mich- Riley?"

"Nolan…" I hugged him and tucked my chin over his shoulder. "Why is the male race such an annoying specimen?"

"I take it you want to talk about it? But first, what's happened with Scott?"

"Oh, he's safe, out of the way. I couldn't stay with him because, because I'm worried-"

"Because you're worried of the kind of person that Scott might turn out to be if you end up getting together. I've seen the way you look at him and also how he looks at you, and I've seen that look a few times in the past. If I can pass one little bit of advice on, it would be to let time sort things out. Scott has a lot going on himself, and so do you. Maybe it would be for the best if you make a promise to yourself that nothing will happen between you and Scott until after he has made amendments with the Hydra corporation?"

Nolan had a point – whilst it was difficult to hear him speak so truthfully about something I thought was so secretive and not as obvious as he was making out, but it was so refreshing. Recently, it seemed as though he was a personal little fountain of knowledge.

At that moment, I nodded and then heard my phone ring. It was that unknown number again.

"Hello?" I answered it, putting the phone onto loud speaker and listening to the breathing. "Come on, I can hear you-"

Nolan took the phone from me. "Listen, there's an issue with this and I don't like it."

"Nolan?" the phone asked – well the caller asked.

That voice. I knew it like the back of my hand.

"Mum?" I blurted out. "Mum, what's going on? Are you alright?"

"Nolan- listen to me, take me off loud speaker now." Hearing my mother's terrified voice on the other end of the phone was tearing me apart inside, yanking at my heartstrings.

The phone went to Nolan's ear and he pressed a finger to his lips as he kept his gaze on me. My uncle and mother spoke for a long time, and as soon as Nolan said goodbye to his sister, I reached out for the phone so that I could talk to her.

"What's going on?" I asked, grabbing his arm roughly. "Please."

"She's fine. Don't worry about her. She just wanted to know that you are safe and sound."

"But why would she not talk to me on the phone?"

"Because she had to make it not look suspicious on the phone bill or when it's recorded. Jordan- your dad has been tapping her phone so she needed to wait until he saw no potential in this number so that she could talk to you without any risks." Nolan trailed off and I knew something was wrong.

"Is she ill, Nolan?" I whimpered, biting my lip. "Is it back?"

"What?"

"You know what!" I shouted angrily. "When I was fifteen years old, she had cancer. Then she had therapy and her health plummeted, until she made a recovery with some Austrian treatment that eased everything slowly. The doctors said it was gone… It's back isn't it?"

Nolan nodded in defeat.

"I have to go home. I have to go back and see her. Mum needs me now more than ever, and I have to see her."

"You can't- Riley, you know you can't. If you go and see her, you're handing yourself over to the one person you told yourself you went under witness protection to get away from. Riley, that man you call Dad caused so much hassle- he made family take the fall for his actions. He's using his hotels to distribute his product. People have died, people have lost everything and I will not stand by and let you go back to Florida as if nothing has happened. Whilst the police have no evidence, he's doing his best to silence the people he needs to, and I can't let him do the same to you. This is for your own good, Riley. I'm begging you- telling you not to go back and see your family."

"But she's my mum, she's your sister. She needs me, and she needs you too. Let's go and see her – we can go to Manhattan, we can go to somewhere that Dad won't find us. Nolan, how would you feel if she died and we didn't get the chance to say goodbye to her."

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = I felt like I needed to add a little of Riley/Michelle's family issues and how complicated life has been until this point. Are you intrigued, and what are you thinking about Riley and her love life- Leo or Scott?**


	7. Chapter 7 - Secrecy

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Caught in the midst of a little love square can make things slightly tricky, getting caught up in a lot of stuff can create a load of issues for Riley and her family. But a familiar face seems to be making an appearance and might be here to stay, but who knows?

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 07**

Nolan stuttered and stammered as he tried to say something that would change my mind.

"You can't make me change my mind, Nolan. You didn't stop Amanda doing what she wanted to do, did you? So don't think that you can order me around!" I snapped, making Stella start bark as if she disagreed with us arguing. "Bed, Stella!" I added, pointing to my room. "Nolan- you of all people have to know what it must be like. You were kept away from the hospitals and the house when we found out that she had cancer. This might be **our** last chance to see her. I couldn't face it if she died and I never got a chance to say goodbye to her, or say that everything will be okay."

"Riley- it's too risky."

My hand took over and I spun around. It slapped his cheek and I felt awful. Tears rolled off my face as I noticed the look of shock on his face. Then another voice spoke out from the doorway of his room.

"Now I don't care if you are his ward or not, but I will not let you treat my boyfriend like that-" A hard grip on my arm startled me and in that moment, I realised just how much strength Arnie had. He looked like the sort of guy that wasn't particularly strong, so to feel what I was feeling was shocking. "I really think that you better leave." He hauled me over to the door and shoved me outside.

Nolan didn't even say anything, he picked Stella up when she tried to smash her way through the front door.

I watched helplessly as Arnie went over to Nolan and hugged him. All I wanted to do was eliminate the relationship that Nolan and Arnie had. Mainly because I felt like he was taking Nolan away from me, but also because he was key to Scott's revenge- if revenge was the right word. Without Arnie, I could apologise, but it would have been hopeless- there was no way I was getting back in the house. At least not with Arnie there. My heart hammered against my chest, making me incredibly nervous and panicky.

The sound of my ringtone made me walk away from the door and to the car.

"Leo, you okay?" I sniffed, but tried to hold the tears and sniffles back. "Leo?"

He wanted me to come over to his apartment, but in the background of the other end, I could hear something that I couldn't define. I couldn't for the life of me have said what it was so I thought maybe I should go back to the one person who might actually love me. Not that Leo or I had actually said it to one another.

At his apartment, I knocked multiple times, and when he answered the door, he claimed he was in the shower. We stood, staring at each other through the doorway and in that moment, my brain took over.

"I think I may have crossed the line with Nolan – I don't know what to do… You're the only one I can turn to. You're the only one-"

Before I could carry on, Leo pulled me inside and began to passionately kiss me, pushing me against the now closed door. All the anger and fear vanished and I was filled with adrenaline and passion for Leo as he guided me towards his room. My hands ran their way through his hair, pulling him even closer and feeling our noses brushing almost aggressively past one another.

"Leo-" I said, in amongst the breaths.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?" I could feel his hands lifting up my shirt up off my body and throwing it to one side without a care in the world for where it might land.

"Wait, do you not want to? I thought what we had was good, and I think we're ready… Are you?"

"I don't know." I stepped back. "Do you think we should?"

"If you don't want to do it, then just say." Leo seemed so blunt all of a sudden which made me regret coming over.

"I should go." I snatched my shirt up from the floor and pulled it back on over my head. "You know, things haven't been right between us lately…"

"Because you. Because you never want to do anything sexual with me, and it's not like you let me do anything to you," Leo moaned, rolling his eyes.

Offended, I couldn't help but retaliate. "Don't you dare! I'm not going to because I'm not ready, and if you can't respect that, then maybe we're not supposed to be together. I think- Leo, I-"

He growled, irritated. "Go on!" he snapped. "Say it, tell me that you think we should break up!"

"No! I want us to- to take a break. Spend some time apart and see if we really want to be together. I have to go now." Letting the door bang, I flew down the stairs and into my car, hearing him call out for me to come back.

Shooting down the streets, I found myself pulled over at the same old diner that Annie worked at. I was desperate for the loo this time and the breakfast shift was just finishing. It was after I bought a hot chocolate that I saw the waitress changing the menus to the lunchtime set. As I was walking back to my car, a woman called out to me.

"I don't usually see the same youngsters again round here- you alright, honey?"

Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw Annie looking even more immaculate than the first time I met her. She would have been pristine if it weren't for the small cigarette between her fingers. Part of me couldn't stand the look of them, the smell or the feeling of inhaling. Not my thing.

"Oh- yeah, I'm just passing through."

"Right, well I hope you find what you're looking for." Her eyes narrowed in a way that I didn't like as she blew out a large cloud of smoke from a tiny hole her mouth allowed.

Rather than question anything, I drove to the chalet Scott was at with some shopping I had picked up from a little convenience store at the nearest and smallest little town. When I got in, I put the groceries on the kitchen counter and called out to Scott, but he didn't answer.

"Scott!" I shouted, running out the chalet, slamming the door shut.

My feet pounded the road until I heard a gentle little splashing. Instinctively, I followed the sound and found myself at a small lake where I saw a woman holding Scott under the water.

"Hey!" I screamed, bundling into the woman and sending us clattering across the shallows and the smooth stones that lined the lake.

Scott lurched up, coughing and spluttering.

Just as I was about to throttle the woman, Scott grabbed me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Riley… Riley, stop it. Hey! Knock it off!" he shouted. "Cool down… You'll thank me later."

As the woman stood up and turned around, I was in total shock.

"Amanda?" I asked, relaxing in Scott's arms.

"You must be-"

"Riley," I interrupted quickly "Sorry, I just like to introduce myself to people first before they get too carried away.

"So you're the Riley I hear so much about from Nolan and Scott." Amanda folded her arms. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

I suggested that we went back to the house seeing as I knew that Scott was safe. It gave me an opportunity to ask her what she was doing, to which she replied saying she came for a number of reasons, including checking up on Scott, training him and then checking up on Nolan. Her husband, Jack (who I had seen in pictures) was currently mooring in at the Hamptons waiting for a safe signal from herself – or something like that.

"So why do you want to talk to me?" I asked once Scott had stepped into the shower and was out of earshot.

One of Amanda's hands rested itself on mine. "It gets easier, don't worry…"

"What does?" I asked, rather naively.

"Being stuck between two men, I've been there." She paused for a long time. "But right now, Scott is in a fragile state and I'm worried about him. He's acting irrationally and I'm worried that he will slip up which is why I wanted to talk to Nolan- the thing is, he's blocked all communications with me. So I thought you would be able to talk to him and see what's wrong."

"Well that might be difficult." I proceeded to tell Amanda about my sick mother in a way that wouldn't give away my real identity, and then how Nolan wouldn't let me go see her and that it ended up in a fatal slap.

"Nolan does what he does because he loves you. It just might not feel like that, but he will come around, I'm sure of it."

"Maybe, but-" I had to make Amanda see things from my side, even if it grazed a nerve. "If before you knew your father was alive, you knew he was alive and okay… You would do whatever it takes to see him, right?"

Her face told it all – despite the fact I had probably smashed into the nerve about her father. "Nolan won't like me going against what he says, but I think if that was the case, then I would do whatever it took to see my father… Though that doesn't mean you should go to Manhattan, Riley."

"Who's going to Manhattan?" Scott asked from the doorway, freshly dressed but rubbing his head with the towel.

"I- I might be," I replied slowly.

"Why? I thought you were helping me lie low… In case the cops are still onto me about Shannon. Unless you want me to come with you to Manhattan?"

My theory was ready. "Something doesn't add up- it's all too easy. I've been thinking of something, and I know it's going to sound crazy, but stay with me on this one. So when I got the phone call from Nolan saying to get you out of the city, I did it because I knew it was the right thing to do. But when I was at the diner Annie worked at, there were no reports about the attack on the t.v, or about you, Scott. Before that, you know when we saw Nolan on video-chat, we saw Arnie and I assumed he was the reason we got tipped off. What if Arnie wanted those closer to Nolan out of the picture? I think Arnie has something to hide… I think Nolan is in danger, I never should have left him alone with Arnie- he's stronger than I thought."

"He's too dangerous, Riley – let me-"

"No! If Nolan isn't okay, I want to know about it… And I'm the only one with transport." It was like I couldn't get away from my car for more than a day recently.

"I'm going around the side of the house, sneak into the garden, see if I can find Stella…"

A puppy yelp terrified me and I was about to scream out, but Scott was quicker and covered my mouth. He began to whisper to me as Amanda went to the front door and slipped down the other side of the house.

"It's okay Riley, she'll be okay. She's a fighter, but Nolan's in there too."

More barking followed so I rushed around the side of the house, not even thinking about the branches scratching my face. Coming out by pool, I peered in through window.

"Nolan!" I squeaked quietly about to rush through the open door, but Scott squeezed my hand again.

"Wait, Arnie might still be in there."

Rather than wait, I rushed forwards and to my uncle's side. "Nolan, Nolan wake up. Nolan?"

Stella was nudging his feet, trying to get a response.

My uncle appeared dead to the untrained eye, but I felt his wrist and closed my eyes.

Faint. The faintest pulse against my finger told me he was still alive.

"Is he alright?" Amanda asked, coming in through the same door Scott and I had just come through.

"I don't know…" I whimpered, rolling my uncle's limp body and flinching at the major bruising on his left cheek and neck. "What did he do to you? Call the ambulance… Call the ambulance!"

Scott reacted before Amanda and the wait for the ambulance was agonising. Amanda told us to go with Nolan and let her know he was okay. I held onto Scott's hand the whole way there, I didn't even notice until we had arrived at the hospital. The hospital that I was sure that Shannon Fisher was also at.

"Sorry," I said, letting go of his hand.

Scott took my hand again as he helped me down from back of the ambulance. "It doesn't matter – I don't mind."

"This doesn't mean anything-"

"I know, don't worry, it's all because Nolan is, like he is."

We followed Nolan get pushed into the hospital and straight towards the operating room as far as they would let us go. Forced to sit down in the uncomfortable dark blue chairs surrounded by lots of potentially ill people, Scott and I waited for a doctor to tell us what was wrong with Nolan.

Unbeknownst to me, I fell asleep leaning on Scott's shoulder, only to be awoken by him to hear the verdict of what had happened to Nolan. The doctor invited me into his office, yet I insisted that Scott came with me.

"Okay, so the surgery was successful- the internal bleeding around the-" the medical jargon was far too much for me to understand, so I ignored it. "He's going to be in the I.C.U from now on. There are visiting hours, but you need to be aware of the beating that your uncle took. I think it might be better for you to return home and get some rest. You look like you haven't slept properly in days…"

"Is he going to be okay? Like his memories and everything?" I asked, desperately hoping for the best.

"Only time will tell. I don't want to say it'll be okay in the unlikely event that he isn't, but we have the best doctors working the I.C.U. He should wake up in no time."

Stepping out of the office, I waited for Scott to say something, to tell me it would all be okay. But I knew he was thinking about what kind of a plan he should put into place for Shannon Fisher.

"Do you need me to do something about Shannon- like befriend her or something?" I asked calmly, totally aware of how wrong it was to say that.

When Scott nodded, I set about finding the I.C.U where Nolan was and explored the various rooms. Then I saw her, sleeping peacefully in the last room, but I couldn't go in there, because Susie was in there. Susie, Leonard Myers' wife, ex or not, still his wife. She was sitting down in the chair beside Shannon's bed, stroking the girl's long hair.

"Nolan- oh sorry, I must have the wrong room. Guess this place really is a labyrinth then…" I stammered quietly.

Susie smiled. "That's alright, I don't mind. Who are you looking for?"

"Oh just my uncle. Is she your daughter?"

"N- well yes, yes she is… But I've only just started to admit that to myself. I gave her up when she was born, but she reached out to me. She's beautiful, brave and fiery- I'm just terrified of this mess she's put herself in. She doesn't have many friends, and she focuses on work far too much. Not like me at all. I'm just glad I could give her the experience she so desperately wanted."

"I'm Riley by the way…"

"Susie, and this here is Shannon. You might want to try the room just diagonally opposite, I'm pretty sure they've brought some new people into those rooms."

"Thanks. Erm, if Shannon ever needs a friend then I guess I am here- I don't have that many either…" I wrote down one of the spare numbers and gave it to Susie. "Bye."

As soon as I left, I thought about this new piece to the puzzle- so Shannon Fisher was in fact Susie Myer's daughter. It was clear that this was probably the reason that there was such a distance between Susie and Leonard in the Hydra Corporation event photo. Maybe it had only just come to light that Susie had a love child with another man – so who was the father…

As I was walking down the I.C.U corridor, I was suddenly grabbed and pulled to one side, down another corridor.

"Scott – what are you playing at?" I squealed, only for him to silence me by pressing his finger to his lips.

"They're here and I can't be seen here, not by them…" he mumbled.

"Then we'll just leave…" I walked away from him, but when I turned back onto the main corridor, I saw him, I saw Leonard Myers in the flesh. Instinctively, I leapt back, almost forcing Scott into the wall.

In a kiss.

We were having our first kiss, even if he and I weren't romantically involved.

And it was incredible…

But when I caught a glimpse of someone walking towards Shannon's room, I pulled away instantly. "I'm so sorry. I saw Mr Myers and freaked out, it had to be done…"

"That's fine, I- I- I don't know what to say. It's maybe not the best idea to be seen kissing someone other than your boyfriend by your potential father-in-law."

 _What? Potential father in law? No!_

"No…" I gasped, cupping my hand over my mouth. "Did you know about that?"

Scott didn't reply, so I prompted a response fairly, pinching his arm a little.

"Did you know that Leo was in fact Leo Myers, the son of Leonard Myers?"

"Come on, of course I did. How did you not know what you boyfriend's surname is?"

"Because I didn't ask." I balled up my fist and punched him gently in the stomach. "You should have told me rather than use me!"

"It could have been suspicious because- because, well it just would have been suspicious if he found out that I was the son of two of his dad's employees, and that we know each other. They would probably assume that we were plotting against them… I should take you home. That doctor was right when she said you looked like you could do with a good night's sleep…" Scott guided me out of the hospital as he called for a cab.

It was cold outside, the wind made me huddle up closer to Scott who now had one arm around me. He was warming me up a little as we waited for the cab. When it pulled up, he opened the door and let me climb in. He went to shut the door, but I stopped him.

"I want you to come too, I don't want to be alone in the house…" I murmured slowly.

"You'll be fine," Scott replied, before giving the driver some money and giving him the directions.

As the cab drove away, I watched Scott kept his gaze fixed on me before walking back inside. I didn't even get the chance to tell him what I found out about Shannon. It had all happened so fast, I had only just seen Shannon less than twenty minutes before.

When I got home, Amanda was still there. She was looking out the window with a mug in her hand. Stella was sitting calmly beside her like an obedient little watchdog.

"Oh- I didn't realise you'd still be here…" I gasped. "Are you okay?" I asked as I saw the expression I had seen on her face. There was a time where I saw a look that was similar of one I had seen on my mum. "Amanda?"

"You certainly would have been safer not coming here, Michelle…"

"Do you know-?"

"I know that you are Nolan's niece – though he never really liked to talk about his sister and his parents, I made the assumption that you must be a relative. A niece seemed like the likeliest option. You don't learn how to take a family down without picking up a few tricks along the way – I knew the moment I met you who you were… You're running from your father who has become so destructive in his ways." A slight smile crept across her face. "Don't worry, I haven't told Scott anything… You'll tell him when the time is right, just as he'll tell you when the time is right." Amanda went to walk towards the door.

"You ought to tell Jack too, Amanda- even if you've been experiencing some tough stuff lately, he deserves to know if it concerns him…" I ended up elaborating. "When you have a family like mine, you learn a few tell-tale tricks. Small actions that mean a lot. I've seen them before in my mum, and I have to know for sure Amanda… Are you pregnant, Amanda?" I flinched as the front door slammed shut. "I'll take that as a yes then."

I took Stella for a long walk around town and was pleased at how well she was whenever I put her on the lead. Whereas before, it was like a struggle to get her to walk alongside me, now it was a joy. People would smile at her as she waddled along beside me. She was such a show-off around people. If it didn't attract attention, then I would definitely just enter her in competitions.

Being at home was cold and alone, it wasn't the same without Nolan being there. Leo had tried to call and invite himself over, but I refused to let him, claiming that I needed some alone time. Scott didn't answer when I tried to call him, so I gave up and just ordered a takeaway.

Walking through the house, I was just opening my bedroom door when I was struck from behind. My body spasmed and I hit the wood floor hard, out cold. Stella's barking rang out in my ear as I drifted out of consciousness.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl – After getting a lovely review from Star, I couldn't help but write another chapter right away, I didn't expect to have a finished chapter so quickly!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Shock

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Nolan's recovering in hospital, and the truth about Leo's family, and Riley's been knocked out – but who's behind it all? Is it her father, or is it the Hydra Corporation? And also, I used a translator for the foreign languages section… it might not be right grammatically so I apologise if it is (and if you happen to be fluent or learning in the specific language, then please, please, please PM me!)

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 08**

Gentle rocking – my body was being rocked from side to side. In darkness, even with my eyes open, it was pitch black. There was maybe a teeny, tiny slit of light from the outside world. I was trapped in the boot of a car. Trying to get one hand to reach out for the slit, both hands moved and it was then that I realised that my hands and legs were bound together by cable ties. I could feel the plastic rubbing against my wrists.

"Stoppe her. Ta henne til meg."

 _What? Sounds Scandinavian…_

"Er du sikker?"

My heart began to hammer at my chest as I writhed and wriggled as if the cable ties would just slip off. Calming myself for a miniscule second, I tried to think what Scott – or Amanda – would do in this situation. I knew there were two people, and that they were European… Scandinavian (so it was either Finland, Sweden, or Norway.)

"Wake up darling," one of the voices said, opening the boot and letting in the early morning light. "It's time to bait you."

A tall man with muscular arms grabbed me, lifting me out of the car before I had enough time to lash out and kick him. He wore a thick black, knitted balaclava which concealed all except his sea blue eyes and his slightly thin lips. Above his lips, I could see light stubble building up on top of a recent shaving cut.

"Who are you?" I asked, gazing at the captor standing in front of me.

His face twitched, like he wanted to tell me, but at the same time, he was being forced not to.

"An associate of an associate who's been charged with your eradication." Another man got out of the car, slamming the door shut with great force. He was much older from the slow way he walked, and the cane he held in his hand. "You've been trying to get away from who you are from so long. Blood is thicker than water and it's about time that you returned home, or face eradication."

"Eradication?" I stammered, shaking a little. "You want to kill me?" One foot stepped back, and I forgot about the cable ties around my ankles. I hit the ground hard and watched the older man approach me slowly.

"Bare kutte festestripsene…" the old man moaned, rubbing his eyes.

I didn't panic, until the younger man pulled a penknife from his pocket. "No, please, don't…" I shuffled back, grinding my elbow against the rough dirt track of the hill we were up.

He lurched forwards and grabbed my ankle with a tight grip. With his spare hand, he flicked the penknife and a sharp blade shot out of the red plastic.

I shut my eyes as I braced myself for impending pain, and then the raw rubbing feeling on my ankles stopped.

"Who are you?" I asked again, hoping to hear an answer. "Did my father send you?"

"Be quiet," the younger boy whispered in my ear. His thumb rubbed my ankle as if for reassurance.

When I was little, my mum would calm me down by lightly rubbing my shoulder or hand. It was one of the only things that would relax me when I was stressed, or scared. So when the younger guy did this, I felt a little weird.

"Gjør det du ble fortalt gutt, og drepe jenta!" the old man shouted.

"Jeg kan ikke!" the younger man snapped back. "Ikke henne."

"Oh just do it!" I called out. "Don't be a coward!"

The older man blinked rapidly. "Quite fiery – like her father…" he paused momentarily. "But we must kill- eradicate." A shiny but antique revolver was pulled out on me. His wrinkled finger flexed around the trigger once a click echoed through the air.

It all happened so fast.

There was a bang as the gun was fired, and whilst I thought it might have been about to enter my body, I saw the old man fall back, cracking his head on the ground as he fell.

Getting away was my next thought. I writhed along the ground, struggling to get much speed.

"Woah, woah, wait. Wait!" the young guy pursued me, abandoning the now dead body.

I managed to roll backwards like an Olympic gymnast, back onto my feet. "Stay away from me!" I shouted, scampering back.

"Stop! I'm here to help you!"

My lips sealed themselves as I tried to break free from the cable tie fastened around my wrist. Then I remembered something my cousin taught me. He would show me all these crazy videos of some escapologist he was in love with. One of the videos showed him escaping out of cable ties – it was easy to do and I had tried it out once. But it was incredibly difficult to do, for a girl. All you needed to do was slam your wrists down into your ribcage- but with a chest, it made it a little harder!

Thumping my ribcage and trying to run proved difficult and when I turned to look over my shoulder, I saw the guy right behind me. Unaware of where I was, I instantly lost my footing and tripped over, right over the hill.

Rolling and tumbling down the hill, I realised how steep it was – incredibly. Grunting as I slammed and thumped into the ground when I began to slow down. The agony and pain was excruciating and like nothing I had ever felt before. It didn't help when I was thrown to the ground seconds after I had gotten up.

"Okay, you're going to have to listen to me. Your father is searching for you – you haven't escaped yet. He's looking for you, but I'm here to help you, I think that me killing my mentor shows that…"

"Get off me!" I kicked out, striking him in the gut. "Start talking!" I added, grabbing a large branch and brandishing it like a butcher's knife.

"Your father employed my mentor to silence you. Your mother made connections with me and encouraged me to protect you… And I'm glad I did."

"Don't start flirting with me – I've, I've got a boyfriend you know." It was a feeble excuse, but technically I still saw me and Leo as being a couple, even if we were on a break.

"I'm not flirting- but I should get you back home. My mentor… He had a way of contacting your dad every twenty two minutes, so when the last one was missed, I assume that your father will send a team of Norwegian assassins to do something about you."

"You so were flirting!" I exclaimed, dropping my wooded weapon. "Come on, I guess we've got a long way to go…"

"Or I could just tell you that Scott is on his way now…"

"Who are you?" I turned back and walked towards him.

"Brody. I'm Brody."

"Oh- well before you assume stuff, I'm Riley. Don't you dare call me Michelle."

"Alright alright…" Brody guided me towards the roadside where Scott was waiting.

"Riley – are you alright?" he asked, rushing towards me and almost examining my body for injuries. "Riley?"

I brushed his hands away. "It's okay – I'm fine… Maybe just a little bit shaken up about being out here." A part of me knew if I had said that I was kidnapped and nearly killed, that Scott would probably freak out and insist on asking why I was at risk. I still wasn't ready to tell Scott about my father's lifestyle and activities.

"I don't buy it – who's the senior jockey in the background?" His head jerked towards Brody. "He may be the reason you're okay now, but I don't like it."

"Scott, this is Brody. Brody, this is Scott…" I introduced the pair and they smiled calmly at one another before nodding in that weird way men tended to do as a greeting. "Play nicely, I need to go home."

"Riley- I think we need to go to the hospital…" Scott replied in a way that terrified me.

"What's wrong with Nolan?!" I exclaimed, going quickly over to the car. "Come on Brody."

Scott blocked the way for Brody. "Why does he have to come?"

"Because I need his help…" I growled, pulling Scott away. "Please don't create hassle for me."

The drive to the hospital was awkward as Brody loomed in the middle of the back three seats. Scott didn't even ask any questions, which was a little bit peculiar, seeing as he normally wanted to know what was going on in my life. I was terrified about what Scott was going to say about the hospital, and most likely my uncle Nolan.

As Scott pulled up and parked in a narrow space a short walk from the hospital entrance, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach at the thought of something happening to Nolan.

"Scott?" I asked, making him turn around to face me as I shut the car door. "Is he- is Nolan okay?"

"He's doing okay."

Brody seemed a little nervous, so I had to ask him what was wrong. He replied, "I'm worried about you… That your father might be watching us. The Norwegians might get here quicker than you think they will."

"Brody- it'll be okay. Just keep a watch out here and everything will be fine." I hastily hurried inside the hospital and stood beside Scott who was standing at the reception. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" he told me in a cold tone.

"Scott, we've known each other for months now- I can tell when you are lying. Your right eye has a gentle little twitch that is easily mistaken. Please?" I reached out and touched his hand, yet he recoiled.

"Stop it." He heaved a deep sigh. "I just can't read you. One minute, we're making out and we get along so well, but then you're off gallivanting in the hills with some guy you've only just met."

"Keep going Scott…"

"It's nothing."

"Scott."

"I don't want to say, alright?" he snapped quietly, an aggression burning in his words. "Come on."

Scott walked me to the room where they keeping Nolan hooked up to a life support machine. A gasp escaped my lips as I saw him. Seeing someone I loved so much in a hospital bed with tubes all over his body. A stream of tears rolled off my cheeks.

"I can't believe Arnie did this to him… Well, I thought they, I thought he loved Nolan. Deep down, I'm sure that Nolan loved Arnie which is why he never seemed to tell us anything about Hydra and Arnie's role in the whole case."

Scott forced me to sit down beside Nolan's bed. "Stop talking and just listen."

I listened to the steady beeping of the heart monitor that was keeping my uncle alive. "What am I listening for?" I sniffled.

"Nolan is in a critical condition. He's going to need you when he eventually get discharged. You can't go wandering off with whoever comes walking by."

"Why are you being like this, Scott? We were fine couple of days ago when we were last at the hospital. Now you're like, just not being yourself…"

"Stop turning this on me. This is about Nolan." Scott went over to the window and looked through one of the small slit of the blinds.

"No!" I snapped, standing up and turning towards him. "Scott – this isn't fair. You can't be fine one second and then so cold the next. And you know what? It's practically because of you that Nolan is in this condition… If he hadn't had agreed to help you bring justice to your family, then Arnie wouldn't have done that to him. I knew that Nolan would fall hopelessly for Arnie. Even Louise agreed with me and thought the same."

"No way! You're not putting this on me." Scott put his hands in his head. "It's bad enough that Bella's on my case, then Amanda was going on at me not to slip up- the last thing I need is you to do the same."

"What's Bella on at you for?" I asked, trying to make the conversation seem a bit less cold and calmer.

"I don't want to talk about it…"

"Come on Scott, it's not like she wants you to marry her, right?" I joked, hoping to make him laugh, but he didn't.

"Not in so many words, but traditions are making difficulties…" Scott replied, sitting down in the chair beside me. "I want to be honest with you, but at the same time, I don't want to ruin our relationship."

I nodded slowly. "Does she want us to stop being friends or something?" My eyes widened when he didn't say anything.

"She's – well she submitted the portfolio Leo made for her to some company. She's gotten the front page of some Hamptons magazine and gets an interview from the editor but… But it means putting me at the centre of it, and it is going to be a lot harder to focus on proving my mother's innocence, especially when I have someone even more important to look out for…"

My heart tore in half completely. "Bella's pregnant, isn't she?" I asked calmly, trying to appear unaffected.

"She says so."

Before I could reply and ask him more questions, I saw Nolan's finger twitch a little. "Nolan! Un- Nolan, can you hear me?" I leapt towards his bed from the chair, willing Nolan's eyes to open. "Come on."

His eyes opened slowly. Emotionless blue eyes stared up at the ceiling.

"Nolan!" I squealed, squeezing his hand and forgetting about Bella's possible pregnancy and Scott's adventure into fatherhood. "You're awake… Finally."

"Michelle?" Nolan said, looking over at me.

I shook my head and laughed it off. "No silly, I'm Riley, remember?"

"Riley…" he repeated in an attempt to understand what was going on. "What happened?" Nolan's slightly swollen eye blinked at me.

I gently took his hand. "You had an accident, Nolan… What do you remember?"

Scott had the answer "He remembers a Michelle, but not a Riley… He woke up for the first time yesterday and started rambling a little. Nolan remembers me, and Hydra, and Arnie, but not Riley, only Michelle."

"Michelle…" Nolan repeated, holding onto my hand. "Who's Riley?"

"I am Riley, I am not Michelle- don't you remember me?"

"I – I'm meant to be looking after you." Nolan slowly sat up. "You're my ni-"

"Shh, Nolan. I'm not sure what this Michelle person you've created is all about."

A nurse came in and ushered us out of the room so that they could run some preliminary tests, but that we should stay in the hospital just in case.

"Come on Riley… We need to talk properly." Scott went over to a coffee machine and got two drinks. "Here," he added, holding one out to me. "Okay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Bella and the pregnancy. I just didn't know whether to tell you-"

As we sat down in the most uncomfortable chairs, I braced myself and instantly said what was on my mind. I said what no one wanted to say.

I placed a hand on his knee. "Because it- you didn't tell me because you knew it would meant admitting that with Bella being pregnant, you would want to be the father that you possibly didn't have… You're going to stick by Bella and that means that you and me can't ever be in a relationship…"

"I guess so, but we'll always be friends, right Riley?" Scott placed a hand on my cheek.

My head turned away. "Of course Scott, but please don't make it harder for me to get over you. Be the best boyfriend you can be to Bella and your baby." I thought about making it a more positive situation. "But come on, a baby- that's pretty amazing, right? You're going to be a great dad. I know you will."

"Well at least you do. Bella insists on baby proofing everything and plastering it all over this interview she's about to have. Part of me doesn't want it to be published because I have been lying low for so long and I don't want for the Hydra Corporation to know that I'm still in the area."

"It'll be alright… I'm sure of it," I insisted, taking my hand back from his knee and sipping the coffee. "Don't worry about me."

"But I do. Especially when you go missing and some guy Brody rings me telling me you're in danger and to come get you. Then Nolan insists on looking after some girl named Michelle, when you're his ward. Can you tell me what you're hiding from me?"

"I don't think now is the right time." I rubbed my cheek. "To be honest, the both of us have family issues and I don't want to tell you just yet…"

"Okay, I guess I'll just have to accept that… You know you can always talk to me, right?"

"Of course, but Nolan needs me right now. And Leo's still trying to show me he's changed, but I'm not so sure I want to get back with him."

"Why don't you just get together with Brody?" Scott laughed sarcastically. "Oh come on, don't be like that…"

I stood up without saying another word and went back towards Nolan's room. "Is he ready to go home?" I asked the man who was in the room.

When he turned, I was in complete dismay.

"You?" I gasped, dropping the cup of coffee and watching it spill over the floor. "Get out of here Arnie. I don't want you to be around Nolan anymore, not after what you did to him."

Arnie squared up to me. "Listen, I haven't a clue what you're on about, but his condition is nothing to do with me."

"Really? Because after you threw me out of the house, I returned home to find Nolan completely unconscious and in a horrendous state. Spare me the garbage and tell me the truth."

"I am," Arnie replied. "I didn't do that to Nolan…"

Nolan piped up next, "He didn't do it, Michelle…"

"Come on Nolan, I'm not called Michelle, I'm Riley." I smiled weakly. "Let's discharge you and get you home."

"I brought you some clothes," Arnie said, opening up the sports bag that was on the bed. "You can stop scowling at me, Riley. I am not a monster."

"What about your report on Mrs Patterson from Hydra Corporation?" I asked, pulling Arnie out of the room so that Nolan could change into a shirt and smart chinos.

"That was, that was a mistake- no, not a mistake… I don't need to explain myself to you." Arnie was adamant that he wasn't going to tell me.

"We should be more honest with each other. If you and Nolan are serious about your relationship, then you need to be honest with me. I heard that you produced a biased article on Mrs Patterson and the Hydra Corporation, in favour of Leonard Myers. Is it a rumour, or the truth?"

Nolan opened the door to his room before Arnie could tell me the truth. "Leave him alone, Riley. Honestly, you two are going to have to learn to get along. I want both of you in my life, under the same roof…"

"Let's go home, Nolan." I put my arm around Nolan and guided him out to the exit. "Did you bring your car, Arnie?"

"Of course, I'll bring it to the front if you two wait here." Arnie walked away into the maze of cars in search of his own.

"Riley- why are you so suspicious of Arnie?" Nolan asked, putting an arm around my shoulders and bringing me a little closer. "Is this about Scott and his Hydra case?"

"I'm trying to help Scott however I can and feel the need to press Arnie for answers. I'm also befriending the intern Shannon Fisher…"

"Are you sure it's not your case?" Nolan asked, stepping to one side. "And have you not heard about the journey Scott's about to take into fatherhood?"

My head dropped instantly. "Yeah, but I suppose it means that I'll be able to get over him. Even if I think I was beginning to love him. Before you ask, me and Leo are on a break, and there's a chance that you'll be seeing more of a guy I met yesterday called Brody, but I'll tell you about that later," I added when I saw Arnie's car approaching.

"When you do, it'll be interesting… Leo was a nice guy, but you never let him stay the night."

"Yeah, well that has been hard to do since I found out he is the son of Leonard and Susie Myers…"

For the next few days, Arnie stayed at the house and I avoided him as much as I could. I didn't see Scott at all- I never even said goodbye to him at the hospital. Brody disappeared out of sight, I never saw him again after our first encounter. Leo wanted to talk about us, so I had arranged to see him later on in the week for a chat about us and what was ahead for our relationship. But I did get a phone call from Shannon Fisher – we had started to befriend each other over the past week and it was refreshing to meet someone new, even if it was related to Scott's revenge, but I wasn't going to let his case ruined Shannon's life like Amanda had ruined so many others in her case for revenge.

I also found Bella's magazine cover. The cover shoot where she did not look pregnant- but I told myself that I had no idea how far along she was. It was the interview that got me where it hurts.

 _Bella is a new up and coming model that has been labelled one of this magazine's "ones to watch" just last week when images of the young beauty's portfolio were leaked._

 _When asked about the photos, she revealed that a boyfriend of someone she knows was behind all of them, including some additional racier shots._

" _I had to be prepared to do anything, and I've always felt sexy in lingerie, but Leo gave me the confidence to take that even further and take tasteful shots that will help me get noticed, of which is clearly working, don't you think?"_

 _The first photo I saw had been leaked online – the auburn beauty was sprawled out on a chaise lounge where all that barely covered her was a silky sheet. From that moment, I knew she was going for gold and chasing greatness._

 _But who is this girl? When she's not baring all for a catalogue, or filming a commercial, she can be found in the most gorgeous beachfront cottage she bought not even six months ago. It's clear she's making a name for herself, but she's been doing so since elementary. Having been popular at high school and secured a scholarship to study at an Ivy League college when she was a teen, it was certainly surprising to see that she had turned her back on education and focused on modelling._

 _My next question for Bella had to be her relationship. Who was or is the girl or guy in her life? Well she has it all sorted before she's even hit her thirties, and she has the ring to prove it. Her fiancé – who she refrained from naming – recently proposed to the starlet at her favourite restaurant, 'The Pearl and the Clam' and she accepted on the spot. I can't blame her from the look of the ring on her finger. Not long after the perfect proposal, the pair found that they were going to be not only husband and wife, but also mother and father – that's right, the baby model is ready to make her mark in the modelling world, even if it's during her pregnancy._

 _A risky move for the new girl on the block._

 _You can see the series of photos from Bella's photoshoot overleaf, and be sure to follow this journalist justintimmins and check out Bella's latest photos on her Instagram account BellaIS – hopefully we will be seeing more of this beauty in the future._

Engaged?! At MY favourite restaurant- 'The Pearl and the Clam' was somewhere me, Scott and Nolan went for dinner and it was delicious- but Scott and Bella were engaged, engaged to be married… I was never going to get a chance to be with the guy of my dreams now.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Bam, bam, bam! What a load of shockers, right?**


	9. Chapter 9 - Morality

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Bam, bam, bam! I just kept on surprising you, right? So Riley's father is sending agents to eradicate his own daughter, Brody extended the hand of friendship to Riley, Nolan finally woke up and returned home, Riley and Arnie are patching things up but there's a whole lot of drama going on in Scott's life…

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 09**

"Riley – there's a guy here to see you…" Arnie said after knocking on my bedroom door. "Shall I send him in?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I replied calmly, crossing my legs and grabbing Stella from the end of my bed. "Hey baby, you're so beautiful- but I don't like you getting hair all over my bed."

"Woah – okay. You really ought to stop talking like that to your dog."

 _Oh no…_ I hadn't even thought about whom it could have been coming to visit me, but it was Leo.

"Leo – let's go for a walk. Come on Stella, walkie!" I sidled past Leo and grabbed the lead off the hook beside the door. "I'm just going out for a walk, Nolan- but I'll be back for dinner." Locking the door behind me, I let Stella lead the way, pulling me along. "So I suppose the question we're both thinking is, what… What becomes of us?"

"If we do, then things need to change. Riley, you're supposed to be my girlfriend and we've been together for over six months now, and I thought we would have at least progressed past kissing one another like a pair of teenage school kids."

"Come on Leo, I still don't feel comfortable. I've never done more than kiss a guy. Admittedly, you weren't the first guy that I kissed- but, but that is irrelevant. Seriously though, you make me feel like an alien when you turn this on me because I don't want to sleep with you just yet, or just because you are my boyfriend. Before we went on a break, I was grateful for the steady pace of our relationship, but then you rushed me and that changed everything."

Leo stopped me and held my spare hand. "You know, I may have met Nolan, but you haven't even met my parents… Maybe you should meet them, even if we aren't going to still be together. They really wanted to meet you."

"I don't know, Leo." Uncertainty was riddling my mind. If this had happened before I was involved with Scott's case and before I knew who Leo's parents were, I could have considered it. "That doesn't seem like a worthwhile night. Are you willing to work through our relationship problems?"

"Riley, I want you to be with me." Leo kissed my cheek. "Please, just give me this one chance…"

"Leo, please, I don't know. There's too much pressure on young people to have sex, get married and have kids, but I am not ready to be so vulnerable to someone like that."

He raised an eyebrow before gently pulling me further along the path, interlocking his fingers with mine. "Is there something you want to tell me- something that you wouldn't want me to know?"

Immediately, I thought about telling him that me and Scott kissed in the hospital to hide him away from Leo's parents, but I didn't need to tell Leo, because we were on a break at the time. So surely that meant I shouldn't have.

Should I? Or shouldn't I?

"No, there isn't- why? Do you have something to hide?" I asked, turning the tables on him to see if he was guilty of something too, which only made me feel more like a hypocrite.

"Of course not, I wouldn't dream of doing anything that would hurt you. You're all that I want, it just took me a while to realise that."

"Leo, do you really mean that?" I looked up at him slowly. "Honestly…"

"Honest."

"I think we need some ground rules though if we do get together. You have to stop being jealous and angry when I spend time with Scott or Brody-"

Leo instantly turned angry. "Who the hell is Brody? You know something- I just can't believe you would try and order me about like you're the golden girl, when you're the one who is hiding some random guy you're seeing-"

"No, no, no Leo." I put my hands on Leo's chest, feeling the strength beneath his shirt. "Let me explain, please Don't be so quick to react- let me explain. Brody is a guy from back home in Florida and we've kind of known each other for a while."

Technically I was telling the truth- it turned out that Brody was the son of an old family friend, and he apparently used to help out on the Campbell compound. Becoming Riley had forced me to forget about some of the smaller memories from being back home in Florida. Brody told me this story about him covering for me when I was trying to sneak out of the compound late one night, and that he had momentarily switch off the security feed so that there was no proof of me disappearing.

"Really- is that true?"

"Really, Leo… So you promise you won't get angry if I go and see Scott, Brody, or even Shannon to be honest?"

"Shannon? Who's she?"

"She's someone I met when I was at the hospital… You need to stop being so suspicious Leo. Trust is the best thing to build on in a relationship. Leo… They are all just my friends, and if I wanted to be with them- Scott or Brody, then I would go and pursue them."

"And what about Bella- wouldn't she have stopped you pursuing Scott?"

The thought of Bella really slapped me in the face, because she was pregnant with Scott's child.

"What about her? She's pregnant with Scott's baby so- oh, well I suppose your only 'threat' and it's not a threat, but Brody would be the- no, I don't mean this… Leo, I don't want to be with Brody, I want to be with you. Leo, I think this. I think I want to give us another go…"

Leo lurched forwards and enclosed his mouth over mine. His tongue was like Indiana Jones, searching for the latest treasure. After all the time we have been spending apart, he had certainly improved on his ability to kiss.

"Woah…" I mumbled when he pulled away, our foreheads still touching. "I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder, right?"

"Definitely," Leo smiled.

A jerk from Stella's lead pulled me away a little, but I held onto Leo's arm and took him with me. We eventually decided that I would stay at Leo's that night- even if Nolan was definitely not keen on the thought of me getting back together with Leo. However, my uncle fell silent when I just reminded him of the abuse he suffered from Arnie, despite the claims that Arnie didn't attack Nolan.

At Leo's, I quickly got used to where everything was in his house, but I had a little surprise in the bathroom. I was just finishing up, washing my hands, when something caught my eye – the bin. The lid wasn't sitting straight on it, so I felt the need to readjust this. Admittedly, I did expect to see the remnants of floss, the empty shampoo bottles, a small capsule pot, but what I wasn't expecting was a pregnancy test… A positive pregnancy test.

But I couldn't ask Leo about it – because it would show that I had been snooping. Not that I had, but that's how it would have been perceived. So I just ignored it, even if it stopped me from sleeping.

The next night, I was sitting in a bar with Shannon. We were both dress to impress, even if I was harnessed down by Leo. Another thing, we were joined by Bella. Scott asked a favour of me, to let her come along, because she wasn't going out or socialising since the magazine article came out.

We were sat at a circular booth, each one of us wearing a flashy dress that had caught the attention of various guys in the bar. I was sure I had seen Bella making doe eyes at one of the guys that was checking her out. All I was doing was trying to find a potential boyfriend for Shannon. She was always going on about how she felt so lonely and she was waiting for the right person to come along, so I was just trying to keep the door open.

"Okay, what about that guy over by the bar? The one with the little bit of thick and curly chest hair poking out of the grey shirt?" I asked Shannon, pointing out the guy in question. "Shannon?"

"Oh- he's not for me."

"Wow, I just can't find anyone for you, can I? And you don't even think Brody is worth going for…"

Bella decided to pitch in and add her two cents to the conversation. "Brody – he's that guy from Florida that you know, right Riley? He is totally the hottest guy that I have ever seen." She then turned sultry and modest. "Boy, if it weren't for the fact that I was pregnant with my fiancé's child and engaged to him, then I would just do it with Brody and rock his whole world… day, and night."

Shannon looked abhorrently shocked. "Don't say things like that Bella- besides, I wouldn't go for Brody in a million years."

"Oh come on," Bella moaned, rolling her eyes. "He's basically a sex god-" She knocked back another drink, making me feel like I should stop her from drinking, because of her pregnancy, but I just couldn't do it. "Come on Shannon- you have got to go home with one guy tonight. We're not leaving here until you do…"

"Stop it Bella- I'm just not like that, okay?"

I noticed Shannon's gaze wandering to someone sitting up at the bar, over Bella's shoulder. "Oh, Shannon, come with me." I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the ladies. "Okay, okay, okay… So I need to be sure about this. Are you, erm, do you- have a-"

Shannon softly laughed. "Yes Riley, I'm- I'm- I'm into girls… Not that I have ever kissed a girl yet. But no one knows, not even my mum, so please don't tell anyone. Pinky promise not to tell anyone?" She held out her tiny little pinky for me to shake.

"Of course! Am I the first person you've told?"

"I guess so..." Shannon folded her arms in a sort of embarrassment. "But… You can't tell anyone."

"It's alright, I'm here for you. I'm your friend, Shannon… You can tell me anything…"

"Well, there is something that I want to tell you, but I will wait until later, when I'm not so tipsy, and there aren't too many people around."

It was weird to think of Shannon as gay, because she didn't really seem to show any preferences towards men or women. She never let on that she was, so the thought only came in my mind every now and again.

"Come on, let's go check on Bella- I'm pretty sure that she's already moved on to the next guy…" I sarcastically commented.

"What do you mean?" Shannon queried, opening the door for me.

"Well, I just don't think that she is as faithful as she makes out. It wouldn't surprise me if she made out with the guy who interviewed her."

"Riley… Try not to be too spiteful of her. I know you liked her 'hottie', but you need to get over him. Even if you won't tell me the 'hottie's name… But I think that you and Brody would really hit things off. You just need to let him whisk you away and do you right there on the beach!" Shannon squealed.

"Shannon! Don't say things like that!" I squeaked in shock and dismay. "Just you wait and see the next lady to walk by whisks you off your feet!"

Shannon and I stumbled back out the door and our mouths hit the floor when we saw Bella dancing atop a round table in the centre of the bar.

"What is she doing?" Shannon gasped, gawping at Bella letting loose on the table.

I had to do something – I forced myself to call Scott to come and collect Bella as she started to gyrate against a guy who looked nowhere near old enough to be even standing in a bar. He came within the next ten minutes, and by then, I had sent Shannon off in a cab

"Thanks for calling me Riley but- what the… Oh my- What is she doing?" Scott sighed, slapping his hand against his face. "This is ridiculous. She's getting out of hand."

"What? What is it?" I asked. "Congratulations on your engagement by the way…"

"Yeah. It all happened a little fast. I'm sorry Riley, I should have told you before, but it was really, really quick. Before my dad died, he told me that if I were to ever get a girl pregnant, then I should marry her, because my granddad left my grandma when she told him that she was pregnant with my aunt. I felt like Bella and the baby are going to need me in their lives. I promised my dad I would propose to a pregnant girlfriend after all."

I didn't like this thought process – because two people should get married when they love each other, not when they feel obliged to as a result of a pregnancy.

"Oh, I totally understand. But even if you don't love her? Sorry, I didn't mean that, but really I do know what you mean, to be honest, your engagement meant that I was able to get over you and sort things out with Leo."

"Right, so you're back together with Leo now? Well I don't – no… Anyway, it's your own choice. What happened to Brody then?"

"He disappeared, I never told you before but me and Brody go way back… Way back. A few supressed memories were unearthed and I remembered some stuff about him."

"Oh, like what?" Scott asked, guiding me over to the table Bella was at like he still wanted to know what I had to say, but had to see tot Bella at the same time.

"Well, he got a job working on the Campbe- working with my dad, when he ran naked across the golf course…" I giggled at the thought of a teenage Brody streaking across the Campbell Compound. I had seen everything…

"SCOTT!" Bella squealed in delight, leaping off the table and falling into his arms.

Then I started to worry a little. A trickle of vibrant red blood started to drip down from Bella's button nose. Scott was sent into a panic and immediately wanted to call the emergency service, but I talked him around. There was a moment where I started to spurt out all my first aid knowledge as I offered Bella a tissue to hold at her nose that the barman gave to me.

In Scott's car, Bella fell asleep in the back and we set off towards their beachfront cottage. Seeing all of Scott and Bella's stuff in the apartment was so irritating, but some of the decorations really caught my eye.

"Can we talk?" I asked as Scott carry Bella to bed in their room. "About just general stuff and your Corporation case." I avoided using the words Hydra, the Myers and revenge in case Bella was still awake and listening.

Scott walked me to the back door and out onto the little patio outside. "Well, I have a spare moment… Come on then." He put his coat around my shoulder and locked the back door behind him. "No funny business, okay?"

There was a moment where I thought that I should remind him of exactly that.

As we walked down onto the beachfront, I tried to keep my distance a little. Whilst I knew I had feelings for Scott, I also had persuaded Leo for another chance at our relationship.

With Scott, I had to tell myself that we were only friends, and that I had to focus on helping Scott with his Hydra case. Having that in mind, I reluctantly told Scott about Shannon's sexual orientation, and about the secret online blog she writes on because I knew that this information would give Scott enough of an idea of how he was going to bring her down in the Hydra case.

Then I decided to tell him about the pregnancy test in Leo's bathroom, but he was unsure what he expected me to say.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. You know, it's going to be weird having a little kid running about here," Scott murmured, facing the vast expanse of the sea. "Come on, let's go for a swim…"

"A swim? Are you crazy? It's really late…"

Scott was already throwing his shirt, shoes and socks to one side. "What? Are you chicken?" he joked.

"I am not!" I said, reaching for the zip of my dress. "But, I can't reach the zip!"

"Well, I can help with that…" Scott was right behind me and I felt him lower the zip slowly, even the breath on the back of my neck. "There."

There weren't even a few inches between us, and all the more, I just couldn't distance myself from him. All I wanted to do was to ask Scott to run away from all of this, but there was so much that we would be leaving behind. Uncle Nolan, Shannon, the Hydra corporation, and Leo.

"Scott. I'm not sure that this is a good idea."

"Come on, let's just go for a swim… That's all I ask."

We were now just in our underwear, but I didn't even bat an eyelid. This had only ever happened with Leo once before, and there was a complete and total awkwardness to it, but not now. Somehow, it just didn't feel weird. There was a large part of me that was captivated by Scott. I sprinted after him and we splashed into the water, diving in. At that moment, I closed my eyes and lowered myself to the sandy floor. I thought about everything and wondered what was going to become of me in the future.

 _Would I marry Leo? Would I end up going back to Florida? Would my father execute my murder? Am I destined to be on the run forever?_

As I opened my eyes, I found myself looking at a blurry Scott almost mirroring me. He was attractive even in his blurriest image. I was indescribably attracted to him, even if I knew he was with Bella and he knew I was with Scott.

Without thinking, my mouth opened and I rose to the surface of the water. Treading the water, I waited for Scott to appear. He did in moments.

"I- I- Riley."

His hand began to stroke and then cupped one side of my face and we started to breathlessly pant at one another. Again, we were kissing. We were kissing as the waves lapped up over our bodies.

"Scott- Hey…" I whispered, blinking a little. "This isn't good. We have to stop doing this before, before something more happens…"

"Yeah, but if feels so right." Scott went in for another kiss, but I stopped him, placing a finger on his soft lips. "I don't love Bella… I lo-"

"We can't do this…" I stopped, moving away from Scott. "I should go."

"Wait, come on Riley, don't go."

I asked that Scott dropped me off home, but we stayed in totally silence the whole way there. He appeared reluctant to leave after I sadly said goodbye to him. At home, there was an envelope addressed to me which I ripped into.

Photos. Surveillance photos. Of me. And Leo. Me and Brody. Then me and Scott in the water earlier that night.

 _This is nothing – this is purely coincidental. No, no, no. My father is really out to get me, and if I'm not careful, then he's going to go after Leo, Scott and Brody. I'd have to tell Nolan about this in the morning, because he's going to want to know…_

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Love love love writing about this story, and I'd love to know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Trust

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Chapter 9 dropped a few bombshells, Riley and Leo got back together, Shannon revealed she was gay, Riley and Scott hatched a plan before going for a late night swim and then those weird surveillance photos turned up…

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 10**

Someone was watching me. Someone was out to get me… This was a warning, and it was terrifying- my spine started to tingle as a cold chill rippled down it.

"You're home late, or should I say early?"

I turned to see Nolan standing beside the fireplace that stood as a free standing wall. Keeping myself together, I slowly showed him the pictures, trying to avoid showing him the one of me and Scott in the water.

Nolan said nothing as he walked towards the table to get a closer look at the photos. "Where did you get these?"

"They came with the mail- it's the first thing that I've ever gotten delivered since I was here. Nolan, I don't think I'm safe here anymore…"

His hands rifled through the photos until he unearthed the one of me and Scott in the water. "Oh Riley," he sighed.

"I know!" I snapped aggressively. "Nolan, don't judge me like that. You know it's exactly like Amanda- okay, when I say that, it's strangely similar… I just hope the guys don't end up the same way…"

"They'll be fine, it's probably just nothing."

"Nolan…" My phone started to ring and it was a message from Scott. "Scott wants to come around- he has a way of bringing down Shannon Fisher for Hydra Revenge after information I gave him."

"Are you sure you're ready to start losing things like you are about to?" Nolan asked. "Because once it happens, it means that you can't really go back. You'll completely lose Shannon as a friend. You'll be alienated by her and her family, plus her mother might not be so easy to forgive seeing as you are one of her daughter's few friends."

"I can get around that."

"You're going to get burnt if you play with too much fire you know."

"So can Scott come in?" I asked, heaving a deep sigh. "He's outside, which I don't like – he should have waited."

Nolan pulled all the photos together into one pile before going over to the fridge. "I can make sure that Arnie can be called away to work, so ask Scott waits outside… Then you can tell him to come in."

"Please don't draw attention to me and Scott- stop talking to me like I'm in the wrong. It was him who initiated it, not me."

He let out a chuckle. "Oh Riley, you don't even realise what you're doing so wrong. Scott's about to have a child, he's about to get married – you can't go around finding yourself in these compromising situations, Riley… What if your father comes after him? You wouldn't just be putting Scott in danger, but Bella too."

"You get toy boy out the house, I'll tell Scott to wait."

Ignoring Nolan, I wandered out the patio door to stand beside the pool. It was windy and it tugged at my hair, pulling at the loose locks. I looked out over the horizon as I told Scott to wait whilst Arnie leaves in case he spotted my friend. The waves lapped up against the rocks below as I sat on the marble bench that was a pitiful excuse for a wall along the cliffside. Nolan didn't like me sitting on it, but that didn't stop me.

"Arnie's gone now, you can call Scott in now!" Nolan called out from the house. "Haven't I told you not to do that!"

I let Scott know and waited for him at the kitchen island with my laptop ready on Shannon's blog that she had set up. It had no link to the identity of the writer, so it was the perfect set up for bringing her down after what she had tweaked with the investigation. The part she had played in taking Mrs Patterson down.

"What are you going to do, Scott?" I asked.

"We'll write a post where she confesses to who she is and what she did. It's the only way I can think of destroying her and what she did." Scott then noticed my facial expression. "I know that you won't like the fact that you're bringing down the one friendship you've build in the Hamptons. But that is what it takes to bring the Hydra Corporation down."

"Scott, what did she do wrong? She was only an intern at the time, what could she have possibly done to bring your mother down?"

Nolan and Scott exchanged a peculiar look, a look which I instantly noticed. I had to question it.

"Tell me."

"Riley…" Scott started, debating whether to tell me or not. "Shannon Fisher made a statement in the trail, a statement which gave a negative character reference of my mother, even after she agreed that she would give a positive one to my mum. Shannon was watched by my mother and she made sure that nothing bad happened to your new best friend because of my mum. And then Shannon does that! Listen to this."

Scott picked up the laptop, plugging a USB stick into it and pulling up a video file.

I watched a news report which showed Shannon making a statement in the courthouse. She was sat in the stand, wearing a white shirt buttoned to the neck and a black blazer with a silver trim.

" _Trinity Patterson was rude, and ruthless – she alienated so many of the workforce around her. I never felt comfortable whenever she was nearby. At the office, she would make herself her own number one priority. As long as the finances of the Hydra Corporation were sorted at the end of the day, she was satisfied. No matter who it was that did the job. It is of no surprise to me that the finances were tweaked and that the rumours of embezzlement are true."_

The questions aimed at Shannon were short and simple, but it was clear that it was a shock to Scott's mother.

"There must be more to it than that. What if they blackmailed her? What if Leonard Myers found out that she was Susie's daughter and forced his wife to get Shannon to lie? It might not have been her fault." I tried to show Scott another side of the coin, but he was having none of it. "Come on Scott…"

"No- as Amanda taught me, I have to carry things all the way through if I am to bring justice to my mother. What Leonard Myers and the whole of the Hydra Corporation did to her was unforgivable. They killed my father, and framed her for his death – they went on to accuse her of embezzlement. How can I sit back and watch one of those people just get away with what they did?"

Opening up my mind a little, I started to understand what he meant, but at the same time, Shannon was still my friend. I decided to hit back.

"What about Arnie?" I looked back and forth between Scott and Nolan and saw something I didn't expect to see. "You two better start talking now."

Scott broke the silence eventually. "Well that would be for Nolan to answer." He folded his arms and sat down beside me, his knee gently grazed my own.

Nolan frowned at us both. "Arnie is off limits… He didn't do anything." The way he spoke sounded so certain, but I couldn't resist challenging it.

"No- it doesn't work like that, Nolan. If you can put Arnie off limits, then I can put Shannon off limits in just the same way…"

"But do you love her?" Nolan asked, resting his elbows on the kitchen island and leaning forwards.

 _Was this his way of telling us?_

"Well no, no I don't. She's a lesbian, and I'm not… She's just the first friend I've made around here." I caught Scott's eyes for a moment. "And I don't think I have many around here. But you're breaking part of your own rules now, Nolan… Don't look at me like that. You know what I mean." A quick glance in Scott's direction, then back to Nolan was enough for him to see. "I was always worried that this would happen. You told me not to get involved with- well, and I told you not to get too caught up in your relationship with Arnie. I knew you would never listen!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Riley!" Nolan retaliated, shaking his hand at me in anger. "You know nothing… All you do is just play the field and keep all the fish biting. You should pick a side, and stick to it."

My mouth fell open, agape at the comment my uncle had just made. "That is low, Nolan. Neither of us knows what the other is experiencing, but you have to let Scott take on Arnie." I glowered at my uncle. "Alright – I'll be the bigger person – alright Scott, you can initiate your attack on Shannon, but you have to do it at the Labour Day celebration. You keep me out of this – if she finds out that I had anything to do with it, you will be dead to me." I widened my eyes and lowered my brows.

The Labour Day party was happening at the hotel on the other side of the Hamptons and had been organised by the hotel owner. Most of the residents in the neighbouring areas had been invited, which would make it incredibly easy for Scott and Nolan to add a few more invites to the list. Just to make sure that they were in attendance.

"It'll have to be the Labour Day celebration- but if it is, then we have to work fast. We have two days." Scott glared at Nolan across the table. "Can we do it?"

"We certainly can." Nolan smiled, moving my laptop to face him.

Typing away on the keyboard, he brought up one of his secret little software systems that allowed him to get into other people's computers, PDAs and mobile phones. It was only a matter of time before Leonard Myers, Shannon Fisher and other additional people were added to the invites that were to be dispatched that day.

"Can I take Leo with me?" I asked, looking at Nolan who frowned. "What? You're going to take Arnie, and he's going to take his pregnant fiancé. Why can't I take my boyfriend?"

"Don't look at me like that, Riley… Next you'll want to have Brody over to stay in your room. Which won't be happening either." Nolan was set on making jibes at me that it was no longer funny. "He told me Mel was in Manhattan last week. She's waiting for you... but I still don't want you to go see her. In case anything happens."

"Nolan- don't make me feel so awkward…" I mumbled. "Hey Stella!" I squatted down and picked Stella up off the floor, letting her smother my face in wet kisses. "I love you too. I really need to take you to have a haircut, missy!"

As I started to laugh, my little pup struggled in my arms and insisted on having a cuddle with Scott. Once he picked her up, Stella put her paws on his chest and smothered him in wet licks.

"Oh I see how it is," I said, holding my hand over my mouth and giggling like a little girl as Scott struggled to remain presentable as Stella to attack his face even more. "You'll never love me like you love him, will you?"

"Well Scott was the one who picked her out and kept her with him for the first few months," Nolan admitted, taking an apple from the bowl. "The woman who raises them was an old friend of mine who offered her assistance with bringing Trinity Patterson to justice so we have her help if we need it."

"Do you want to talk now?" I asked Scott, jerking my head over to my room. He nodded. "Okay Nolan, I'm leaving Stella with you – can you watch her for me?"

"Sure…"

I lead Scott into my room and when I closed the door behind me, he was watching me and then his head turned towards the bed.

"No! I just want to talk, okay?" I sat down at the foot of the bed and pointed for him to sit down at the desk. "About us- I mean, I know there isn't an 'us' like boyfriend and girlfriend 'us', but us. You and me. The people that we are. Last night, then the hospital, and just how we are with one another."

"What? It's brill-"

"No. Scott. I need for you to focus all you love and affection on Bella. Not me. She's your fiancé, and I'm just your friend. You made that decision, so I think I have to say what Nolan's thinking. You're with Bella, and I'm with Leo now. I think we both need to move on and not put ourselves in compromising situations where we end up betraying Bella or Leo."

Scott almost recoiled at the sound of Leo's name. "Are you seriously back together with him?"

"Yes – and can you stop acting like he's the devil or something?"

"Well he practically is the spawn of the devil… You said you didn't want Nolan getting hurt by Arnie and what the Hydra Revenge may do. I don't want you to get hurt when I bring down Leonard Myers and Hydra because Leo might just have to be collateral damage." His hand brushed my cheek, but I moved away, pushing him back.

"You leave him out of this, Scott. Seriously. I mean it. You can hurt Shannon, but I won't let you do anything to Leo." I frowned at him. "But, I wanted to ask you another favour."

"Of course Riley- I'd do anything I could if it helps you out." Scott moved forwards, kneeling beside the bed and looking up at me with his huge dark brown eyes.

"Will you take me to Manhattan to see my mum?" I asked.

Scott looked away, out of the window whilst he contemplated his answer. "You know, I kind of agree with Nolan… But you're my friend and I would rather go with you than let you go alone and have something happen to you."

"Thank you Scott." I stretched my arms out to him for a hug and as we embraced, I never wanted to let go. "I wish I'd gotten to you before Bella…" I mumbled inadvertently as my mind and brain disconnected for a moment. "Oh."

"Riley. You got to stop playing around with me. And I got to do the same…"

"We're just as bad as the other."

We spoke a little more, and discussed our plans about Manhattan – as well as minor details that would go in the blog post that would be projected at the Labour Day party.

The next day, Scott and I made our way to Manhattan in the early morning hours of the day. The journey was nice and peaceful- Scott wasn't as nervous as he used to appear. When we first met, he wouldn't go anywhere in case Leonard Myers had people looking for him, but when he realised that they were, it was fine. Plus, there were no issues over Shannon Fisher's violent attack as the police were never looking for Scott in the first place. Which I still needed to bring up this issue with Nolan.

As Scott and I stepped off the train in the centre of New York, I glanced at the address that was written on a napkin from Brody. It was a room at the Plaza Hotel – a luxury five star hotel, simply the best. That's all my mum would want – being trapped inside the Campbell Compound meant that all she wanted to have the best.

"She knows how to live her live…" Scott mumbled, crossing over the street ahead of me.

We walked towards Central Park and when we finally reached it, I couldn't bring myself to go inside. I stood opposite the Hotel from across the street and it was daunting standing in front of something so massive. Scott was sweet and refrained from pushing me. He leant back against the stone wall with his hands tucked in his jean pockets.

"She's inside there…" I mumbled. "I'm going in." I started to walk away, but instantly realised that Scott didn't walk with me. "Aren't you coming in with me?"

"Do you really want me there?" Scott avoided eye contact with me. "Because I didn't think that you would want me to."

A lump smacked itself in my throat. "Please…" I replied, holding out my hand to him.

"For you."

We walked inside and immediately, I realised that it was the elite of the elite who stayed here. The white marble floor shone and not a squeak could be heard as Scott and I walked towards the reception. The man on reception seemed to acknowledge the name Brody had given me. He pointed us in the right direction and the lift attendant took the lift up to the penthouse suite.

"Mum!" I called out, rushing into the penthouse suite "Mum?"

I squeaked when I saw her sitting in the luxurious white chair with golden trims facing the wide windows. From a side profile, she looked so weak and she barely moved. Her thin lips trembled as she spoke to me.

"Is that you?"

"Yeah Mum, it's me, Riley…" I said, kneeling beside her and seeing her eyes light up when she saw me. "You look-"

"Never mind me-" she paused to inhale a mouthful of air through an oxygen mask connected to a metal cylinder that sat beside her. "You've brought company- let's meet him…" Mum had seen straight through me and lifted a hand to usher Scott over. "Don't be shy – you can't be worse than some of my daughter's old boyfriends."

"Mum!" I squeaked, nearly breaking down on the arm of the chair. Ignoring the fact that Mum had referred to Scott as a boyfriend, I ushered him over. "Come on Scott…" I waited for him to come over and introduced him to my mum. "Scott, this is my mum, Melanie, and Mum, this is Scott…"

"Nice to meet you Scott. I'm so pleased that Riley isn't alone living with my brother." Mum reached out and clasped Scott's hand. "How are you?" Another gulp of air.

"I'm good thank you, glad I could help Riley find you. Even if you look to young to have her as your daughter."

"Oh I had children before I had her..,"

There was a moment where I felt the need to go to the bathroom and freshen up my face. Tears and not waterproof makeup were not a mix.

"I'll be right back Mum. Just going to the bathroom."

In the bathroom, I was in awe at the magnificent bathroom. Splashing water in my face, I removed the slight remnants of what had been smudged down my face. Looking slightly better than I was before.

Then I heard laughter. Scott laughing – it was so lovely, I don't think I could remember him properly laughing like that. Him and my mum were laughing together. I wanted to know what about, but I didn't want to come out. Standing by the door, I listened out for their conversation.

" _Nolan told me a little about you and my daughter. She's very special to me, Scott. The most important thing in the world to me is that she's happy. Is she happy?"_

" _I think so, she seems that way around me – I hope so…"_

" _To be honest, you seem much better than what that Leo boy sounded like. I wasn't so sure about him. Out of all of the guys, I like you the best. You could make her the happiest she's ever been."_

" _Oh I don't know about that Melanie. Sometimes, I feel like I'm falling deeper and deeper for her, but I can't take things any further…"_

" _Promise me one thing?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Promise you you'll make her happy. Promise me that even if you aren't together, that she'll always be happy. Promise me that if you get married to her, that you get married because you love each other, not because you have to."_

" _That's a lot of promises, but you have my word."_

Hearing stuff like that, I wished that Bella and Scott weren't together, I wished that they weren't having a baby and I wished that Scott and I could be together. I waited a moment longer before going back into the penthouse suite.

"Melanie?" I heard Scott's voice sounding panicked and caught off guard after they were laughing again.

"Mum?" I called out, running into the room.

Her arm was hanging limp over the side of the chair. She had gone, she had just died.

"What did you do?" I gasped. "Scott…" Overreaction and confusion riddled my mind. "Oh my- I think I'm going to be sick."

"Woah, woah…" Scott lunged forwards and caught me in his arms, just as I was about to faint.

"Catch," I said, gripping his arm, before bursting into tears. "Mum…"

Scott dropped to the floor slowly and cradled me as I cried into his arm, dampening his sleeve a little. He kissed the top of my head multiple times, sending a warmth across my whole body. "I'm so sorry- but she was happy… Happy in her last moments…"

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," I whispered solemnly, sniffing vigorously. "We should go back home, I need to tell Nolan what's happened. And it's the Labour Day party too… There's so much going on and I can't even tell Leo any of it which is so hard because he can't know about my family."

"O-kay… It's going to be alright. You go back home, I will make sure that everything is done right here…" Scott lifted me to my feet before guiding me back to the lift. "I'll see you at the Labour Day Party."

Nolan couldn't contend with the fact that he had just lost his sister and I had lost my mother. We sat in silence alone. Stella climbed up on the sofa between us and sat down, slowly panting as I knotted my fingers around her curled fur. A ball of warmth that I held onto so tightly that she could have been mistaken for my safety blanket.

"I'm so sorry I didn't let you see her sooner." Nolan looked at me before putting his hand on my cheek. "That was so, so wrong of me…"

"No, no, no. You were right to do that. Seeing as my dad set out to erase me, you had to put your foot down and stop me from getting hurt. Nolan, you really have nothing to be sorry for."

"You really are her daughter. Ah…" He leant forwards and started to rub his eyes. "At least we know that she passed away happy, seeing her daughter."

"I didn't get to say goodbye- she was talking to Scott whilst I was in the bathroom. Although I'm not proud of it, I listened in on them. He said he was always going to make sure that I was happy."

"He knows how to play everyone so please watch yourself."

"Nolan, why are you so sceptical of Scott?"

He refrained from saying anything, until he gave in. "Just ask Scott about 'Club Cat's Eye' and see what he tells you."

"Club Cat's Eye – what is that?" I asked slowly.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Cat's Eye- what's with that? So it was a chapter full of twists and turns but we are certainly on our way to bringing down someone in the Hydra Corporation – what is ahead for the Labour Day Party?**


	11. Chapter 11 - Hypocrisy

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Chapter 10 has allowed me to pass into double digits, so I can't wait to carry on with this story!

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 11**

"Nolan, what's Club Cat's Eye?" I asked again, brushing a piece of light brown hair back behind my ear, even though there were loose strands hanging down past my shoulder.

My uncle shook his head. "It's not my place to say… Anyway, have you organised a dress for the Labour Day Party later this evening? Because I have a backup if you don't."

There was a moment where my mouth quivered, followed by another where I wondered why Nolan would have a spare dress, but I shrugged the notion off. "Yes, yeah I have, Nolan, but stop trying to change the subject. Club Cat's Eye- what is it?"

"Stop Riley- it's not my place to say. Stop asking – that's the end of our conversation about…" Nolan paused, a frown on his face. "So I've been meaning to tell you that your father arranged a burial for Mel- your mom. I know if I say I don't want you to go, that you'll end up going anyway. So I was thinking that it might be easier for me to say that I'll go with you if you wish to go. Do you want to go?"

I scoffed quietly. "But it's not really going… It's being in the vicinity and saying goodbye from a distance, or trying to disguise ourselves to get closer. To be honest, it's really not the same."

Nolan nodded slowly. "I know it's not, Riley, and I understand that. But now more than ever we need to be careful, as will Scott." He moved over to the kitchen and pulled a notecard off the fridge. "I forgot to say, Amanda sent a note to us. She has returned to stay in the Hamptons for a while, so hopefully we'll see more of her. Whilst the note doesn't make sense to me, I'm sure you'll know what she means…" He passed it over to me and I glanced down at the small card.

 _To Nolan and Riley, it seems a lot has happened since we last saw each other – I can certainly confirmed that, even if Jack is unaware that I've been to visit you, or that you're both helping Scott with the case. He doesn't know anything about it. Yet. The Hamptons will be my temporary home for now, Jack's moored in and visiting some old family friends. Maybe I'll drop by, Amanda._

It took me a while to understand what was going on, but when I thought long and hard about it, I realised that this was Amanda's 'confirmation' that she was pregnant, and acknowledging that Jack didn't yet know.

"Do you think she'll be at the Labour Day Party?" I asked with a smile on my ace. I liked Amanda – not just because she was a nice person, but because she was also so close with Nolan and had completed her own Revenge case. She sympathised with me over my situation with Scott, but didn't want to give me a clear answer as to what I could do. There was no judgement with her.

"Maybe – we won't know until tonight…" Nolan murmured. "You and her becoming best buds or something?"

"Nolan- I know things. Things that you don't know- so watch out." I picked up Stella and squeezed her tightly as she panted in my ear. "Don't look at me like that, if it's just because you're jealous that Amanda is friends with someone other than you, then you've nothing to worry about."

My uncle rolled his eyes and simply walked away from me.

 _Yes I have sorted out my dress for Labour Day, but you haven't told me anything about the Club Cat's Eye._

I went into my room, letting Stella drop down onto the wood floor. The dress was hanging up inside the wardrobe, so I thought I might as well get it out and aired a little.

It was a dainty little navy blue short dress that puffed out a little and a dress I had to alter. I had had the sleeves removed by the Hampton's tailor shop – they just didn't look right when I wore the dress beforehand. The sleeves were puffed and gathered in at the wrists. I loved the mesh panel at the centre of the front that had this beautiful beaded detailing on top of the mesh.

"Riley, Scott's here!" Nolan called out.

There was a knock at my door, and rather than let Scott into my room, I opened the door and stepped out almost straight into him.

"Scott, hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess." He pointed at my door as if he expected me to let him back in.

Deep down, I wanted to stop him being in my room as I was now trying to stop us from being in intimate situations – so being away from my room was an easy way of not allowing them to occur.

"No Scott, let's talk in the kitchen – I'm pretty sure that there's someone who wants to see you."

As if she knew that I was talking to her, Stella bounded up towards Scott, barking joyfully.

"Hello little girl- well, you're not so little anymore, are you? Wow, you really miss me, don't you?" Scott said, crouching down to rub her mottled tummy.

I went through to the kitchen and sat up at the kitchen island. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Just want to make sure everything is in hand now." Scott leant over the kitchen island, getting closer to me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing – just trying to stop awkward situations and messing things up for us. We have to both remember that you have a pregnant fiancé and I have my boyfriend."

"Yeah, right…" he murmured. "No, seriously, what's up?"

I glanced at Nolan over Scott's broad shoulders, he simply raised his eyebrows and looked back down at some paperwork that his new company Ross-Co had. Nol-Corp or whatever it was before was getting a fresh start.

"Well- someone mentioned something to me, and I want to make sure-"

In a second, Nolan's head rose, shaking his head so quickly that I knew something was wrong. He knew I was about to ask about Club Cat's Eye.

"Oh, just whether you had set a date?" I quickly asked the first thing that came into my head – something about Bella and Scott's upcoming wedding.

"About that." Scott rubbed the back of his head. "Don't take this the wrong way but, but… She-"

I knew exactly what Scott was about to say. "Bella doesn't want me there, does she?"

"No. Sorry… Don't get me wrong, Riley- I want you there more than anything… Bella just doesn't' see it that way."

"It's alright, I suspected as much when I saw the invitation to Nolan specifically stating it was the wedding of Scott Patterson and Bella Snare. Besides, Bella has her reasons, and we can't just ignore that."

"Riley…"

Nolan decided to intervene when he noticed that Scott was now standing right beside me as I perched on the stool. "Scott, mind if I run you through a few things."

"Sure, let's go in your office, yeah?"

That night, Leo and I were driving over to the venue for the Labour Day Party and pulled up at the side of the road.

"Leo – what are you doing?" I asked, looking to the side of the car and knowing that we were nowhere near where the party was taking place.

"Riley, I know we've been together for a while now, but there's something I haven't been totally honest with you about." Leo paused. "When we weren't together, I- I slept with someone."

"Who?"

"Oh I don't think that's the point right now…"

I shook my head. "Why did you wait this long to tell me? And it is important- I want to know who this girl is you decided to sleep with whilst you and I were having issues."

"Come on Riley…"

"No, don't 'come on' me, Leo. I- have to know. Was she there when I came to the apartment? I heard another girl there – I know I heard the bathroom door close, and I know that someone has to have been in there because the door only closes when it's locked." I was adding it up in my head, trying to stop myself, but being unable to. "…and you were practically naked, even if you claimed you were having a shower. That's when it was, wasn't it? You lied to me. How could you? Why would you do that to me? You said, you said you cared about me…"

"Riley, don't be like that."

"I can't stand this sometimes. You know what, I now know that I no longer have any feelings for you. I thought I could get them back after the first breakup, but nothing." Without even thinking, I stormed out of the car and slammed the door shut.

As I started to walk away, Leo shot off quickly in the car. I rolled my eyes at his behaviour and started to shiver. It was a short walk to the venue, and my feet started to ache a little by the time I got there.

Nolan was surprised to see me arrive so late, and without Leo in tow. "What happened?"

"I guess there's a possibility that I may have broken up with Leo again- he was trying to be honest when he told me that he slept with another girl. I can't stand disloyalty- my father's disloyalty is the centre of my issue with loyalty. So don't judge me based on my actions tonight."

"Okay, but just remember that Scott's still out of bounds, especially whilst Bella is around. I'm only telling you this as we are family, but I don't think the husband and wife to be are having the smoothest relationship. She let slip that Scott might not be the father."

I snorted. "Guess me and Scott have a lot more in common than we thought…"

"Yeah, I don't want to say I told you so about Leo, but I told you so," Nolan whispered, turning towards me. "And don't ask Scott about Club Cat's Eye when I'm present."

"Sorry, I thought that it would be okay, alright?" I shrugged. "Is Scott ready to bring down Shannon?"

"He believes so."

"Good – I'm going to schmooze a little. Talk to people and see what is happening in the Hamptons."

I weaved through the bustling crowd, passing an ice sculpture and pyramid of champagne flutes. A hand grabbed mine and pulled me away.

"Amanda!" I said cheerfully, but the frown on her face was slightly off-putting. "What's wrong?"

"You were right-"

"I know, it's a gift… I deciphered your letter. You need to tell Jack about the little one."

Her mouth dropped open and she folded her arms.

Just standing to her left, facing the other way, was a guy who I had seen and recognised only from the photos that Nolan had shown me.

"Jack…" I murmured, realising what I had done. "Oh my god, Amanda- I'm so sorry- I didn't… I didn't know he was there."

"It's fine…" Amanda whispered. "Jack, this is Riley – Nolan's ward for the moment."

"Hi," Jack said, shaking my hand. "What were you two just talking about?"

I nodded at Amanda, hoping that it would encourage her to tell him.

"This is going to sound hard, Jack, but… I think we might be – you're going to be a Dad again."

Jack's mouth dropped open in pure delight. "You're- really? Amanda, that's incredible!" His hands clapped together over his mouth, unable to contain his joy.

But she didn't say anything.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. This time will be different. It wasn't your fault." Jack rested his hands on her waist, stepping closer to her.

Seeing as the couple were about to have an important conversation, I chose not to stand around waiting for a moment to talk to Amanda about Scott.

I took a moment to have a breath of fresh air on the patio outside.

"Hey beautiful."

"Brody…" I said calmly, feeling a wave of relaxation and butterflies in my stomach that I had only ever experienced once. When I first saw Scott.

"You know, you and me have a lot more in common than you would think…" he said, sounding so cryptic.

"You can keep your eyes up here please," I said, grinning as I pointed up at my face. "Don't worry, I don't mind…" I added flirtatiously.

"Don't make a fuss – you love it really." Brody leaned forwards and planted a kiss on my lips.

My mouth accidently slipped and I kissed him back. All thoughts I had for Leo, or even Scott, went out the window and I couldn't care. Brody was showing affection and I was clearly into him as well. I let him take control and lost myself in the moment. His hands ran through my recently straightened hair and I snaked an arm around his neck, pulling him even closer.

"Did you come back to protect me, or because you wanted me in your life?" I asked in between kisses.

"Oh yeah. I want you – I want you so much," he gasped, breathlessly.

When I woke up, I was lying in my own bed, naked. Looking to the floor, I saw my dress and underwear strewn across the floor, along with a suit and tie.

"Oh my-"

There was a rustle of sheets, followed by a kiss on my shoulder.

"Good morning," Brody whispered, brushing my arm.

I gathered the quilt up around my bare chest. "Hi. That really happened, didn't it? We really slept together…"

"Oh yeah, and I couldn't be happier- so what's wrong?"

"Brody, you're hot and I'm totally attracted to you in a way, but I just broke up with Leo." I grabbed a nightshirt from the bedside chest of drawers and slipped it on over my body. "I shouldn't just go jumping into bed with the next guy that shows up."

The doorbell rang and I hastily grabbed a pair of sweatpants before leaving my room.

"Shannon-" I whispered, seeing her completely fuming. To put it simply, if she were a cartoon, then smoke would be pouring from her ears.

She must have realised that I told Scott- or someone- about her being gay. After I met Brody at the party, we went back to the house (thankful that Nolan had gone back to Arnie's apartment) so I would not have seen Scott take down Shannon. And Nolan wouldn't have seen my steamy encounter with Brody. Thank god, because I would have never lived that down.

"You bitch! You jealous bitch!" she screamed, thumping the glass door.

"Shannon – what are you on about? What am I jealous about?" I asked, playing the ditzy and dumb one. "You're scaring me, what happened?"

"The Labour Day Party yesterday, someone posted a post from my blog about me being gay – you are the only person I told, so it had to be you."

"Shannon, it wasn't me – I would never do that to you. We're friends." I panicked and didn't know what to do, so I acted like I knew nothing and opened the front door.

Like a flying ferret creature, Shannon threw herself at me and knocked me to the ground. She pulled my hair in such a rough manner that I screamed out in pain. But I couldn't fight back – I refused to fight back against one of my only friends in the Hamptons.

"Shannon – Shannon stop it!" I squealed, a tear in my eye as I desperately rolled onto my back which only made her able to hurt me more.

"You don't know the half of it!" Shannon screeched. "I met a girl called Lara, and we were having so much fun, she taught me everything I know about the female body. She showed me so much, and then she turned out to be some associate of my boss." She slammed my head against the floor and I gasped as my brow collided with the wood floor, smearing blood along it. A dizziness filled my head. "Lara and my boss seemed to have this plan to cover up a huge case and pin it on Trinity Patterson-"

"Please…" I squeaked, trying to crawl away, but because she was straddling me, I just couldn't. In the moment, I was caught up in the moment that Shannon admitted it was all pinned on Scott's mother.

"Riley!" I heard Brody come to my rescue, plucking Shannon off me and carrying her away, even with Stella hanging on the hem of the clothes she was wearing. "I seriously think you better go, or I'll call the police." Brody held the door open for Shannon to leave as I backed up against the wall and placed a hand over my eyebrow.

"You're kidding me, right?" Shannon scoffed, looking back and forth between me and Brody, realising it was him and that he was in nothing more than a pair of boxers. "Riley, you're such a hypocrite, you're even worse than Bella. She comes across as a slut, but you… You're ten times worse, you try to make out that you're this golden girl, but you are just as bad. Leo and you hadn't even been broken up for a day and you already humped the first guy who showed affection – I'm just surprised it wasn't Scott!"

"Please don't tell Leo, Shannon…" I pleaded, crawling forwards towards her.

"Oh don't worry, I'll keep your dirty little secret a secret," she replied coldly, before nudging Stella off her clothes and abruptly leaving the house.

Brody dropped to the floor beside me. "You okay? That cut looks pretty deep, we should probably take you to the hospital."

I shook my head, squeezing his strong arm. "No, it's fine. I don't need to go to the hospital. Just being here with you is enough…" My hands shook violently. "What if she tells Leo?"

"I don't care- we'll handle it together, Riley… You know, I liked Michelle, but Riley is really growing on me."

There was the loud tune of my cell phone's ringtone filling the house. Brody went to get it and I found it weird that he did – not even Leo would answer my calls.

"It's a private number- you better answer it…" He passed the phone to me before sitting down beside me and hugging me gently.

"Hello?" I said after answering the call.

"Oh hello, we found this number and I just want to double check – does the name Leo Myers mean anything to you?" The voice sounded young and uncertain, like they had no clue what they were doing.

"Yeah – I guess it does, I know him, why?" I asked, slowly sitting forwards.

"He's been involved in a car accident- it's believed he was talking about his girlfriend called Riley-"

"Is he alright?" I placed a hand on Brody's knee and gently squeezed it.

"I think you should come to the hospital whilst we try and contact his family…"

The ending to the phone conversation sounded awkward, putting the phone down, I turned to Brody.

"Are you able to drive me to the hospital?" I asked.

His face twitched a little. "For you, but we need to talk about us… What was last night?"

"Brody- can we talk about it later on?" I sniffed in an attempt to stop my nose from dripping. "Grab some clothes and meet me by your car." I took one of Nolan's only hoodies- my uncle detested this type of clothing and wouldn't be seen dead in one, unless he was at home under lock and key. Wearing it made me feel a little warmer, and made me weirdly feel like Nolan was looking out for me. "See you by the car, Brody…"

He came out wearing his suit trousers and slightly wrinkled white shirt, unbuttoned a little – just the way I liked on guys. Well, I liked it on the guys that could pull it off.

"You know, I mean it when I said I was attracted to you."

He stood beside me and kissed my lips before opening the car door. "Get in, missy."

"Why thank you kind sir." I smiled at Brody trying to show some positivity.

I rushed into the hospital and nearly slammed into the reception- they helpfully directed me to the room where Leo was being held. Without even realising, me and Brody burst into his Leo's private hospital room.

Susie Myers was sitting beside his bed, when she saw me, her face lit up. "Riley? and- I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are…" She looked at Brody in a flirtatious and slightly sensual way as she looked him up and down.

"Never mind me…" Brody said sternly, stepping back outside.

Susie squeezed Leo's hand. "I'm sure you're probably wondering why I'm here at Leo's bedside, especially when I was also at Shannon's… Small world I suppose…"

"Oh, not really. I guess you can be mother to so many children, right?"

"Yes, I just find it peculiar that you have befriended my daughter, and got together with my other son. I say other because they don't exactly share the same father, which accounts for the differences you might see between them. Even if I don't see any of Susie Myers in Leo Myers. He's the spawn of Leonard."

I was glad that she managed to revert the conversation back onto herself so that I didn't have to explain the reason I was so close to both Shannon and Leo. Because of Scott and his revenge case against her husband.

"Never mind, the thing is…" I was just about to admit that Leo and I were broken up, but Leo stirred and awoke.

"Mum?" he whispered, looking up at Susie. "Where am I?"

"You were in a car accident. The hospital had to do a few repairs, sweetie, but you're alright now. Don't worry."

"I should go…" I mumbled, reaching out for the door handle.

"Riley," Leo called out feebly to me. "Don't."

I couldn't leave now. "Leo, I shouldn't be here. I feel so responsible…"

"What?" Leo mumbled, blinking a lot.

"Last night, when you were dropping me off at the Labour Day Party- don't you remember?"

"No, why? What happened?" He reached out and held my arm. "Tell me what happened."

"Leo- I don't know how to tell you, but you broke up with me…"

 _I know, maybe a tiny white lie, but he didn't know, so I thought it wouldn't really matter…_

Leo let go of me. "Why are you here if we broke up then?"

"Because even if we aren't together, or going to get together, there's still a part of me that will most likely care about you. Leo, you could have died in the crash."

"I'm so sorry…"

"Me too, Leo. I should go now. See you around."

Walking out the hospital room, I felt a wave of relief as I saw Brody stand up from the chair further down the corridor.

He mouthed 'you okay?' and I shook my head slowly.

We went to the beach, just further down the coast from Nolan's and just sat on the sand.

"What is this, Brody? What is 'us'?" I asked the dreaded question.

"I don't know, Riley."

"Because the thing is, whilst I admit you drive me crazy and I'm totally attracted to you, I did just break up with Leo last night… Even if not a lot of people know us in the Hamptons, I still feel like I shouldn't just get with the next guy I see."

"But you kind of did…"

Annoyed, I turned around quickly and knelt on the sand, facing him. "Brody- I was angry. I was mad at Leo because he slept with another girl."

"Don't you see it? You did what he did, and that is a little big hypocritical, isn't it?" Brody smirked a little at me. "But I will fight for you, I want to be with you."

"And that's okay, but I'm saying that we aren't getting together until Leo is recovered and understands that there is no us." I leaned forwards so that our faces were inches apart. "Don't get me wrong, I like you, but I don't want to be labelled as a whore or something."

"You could never have that label. You have the best blue eyes, and I love your freckles. What is there not to like?"

"Get me a bucket," I remarked sarcastically, smiling broadly because Leo never said things like this.

He was about to lean forwards and kiss me, but I leaned away. "Don't be like that."

"Brody…" I whispered. "By the way, there's something I've been meaning to say, someone's been watching me. Taking pictures and then mailing them to me. You're certainly not doing a good job of protecting me, are you?"

"Do you think it's your dad doing it?"

"Well I hope not, because that means that they know where I live. That means they could hurt Nolan."

"It'll be okay – I'm here to look after you. To protect you, like you mother asked me to." He hugged me close and fell back flat on the sand. "Hello…"

"Brody- not now." I rolled over onto the sand. "What if they're watching me now? What if my dad is the reason that Leo is in the hospital?"

"Riley, don't worry. You are going to be okay. I will protect you."

"Okay- but I'm going back home." I kissed his lips quickly.

"Right," he sighed, picking himself up off the sand. "But I'm going to walk you to door."

Brody and I walked arm in arm back to the house, and maybe a quick kiss at the door. Before I even had a chance to drink a glass of water, the doorbell rang.

"Oh- come on Brody. I told you no-" I froze when I saw Jack standing outside the front door, holding the hand of a small boy who couldn't have been older than seven. "Jack?" I said, turning my head a little and opening the door slowly. "Come in."

Jack stepped inside Nolan's house and went straight towards the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home then…" I said under my breath.

"Where's Nolan?"

"He's clearly not here, sorry… But I can give him a call if you'd like?"

Just as if he had a delayed cue, Nolan opened the door and frowned at me. He had clearly seen Brody leaving the house, but couldn't comment on it- not when he saw that Jack was standing right there.

"Jack?"

"Nolan, it's Amanda- she's disappeared and she's not in any of the places that I thought she could be. I need your help…"

Jack's little boy looked at me, and smiled as I sat down on the sofa with a glass in my hand and Stella lying beside me with her head hanging off the end of the sofa. Nolan had given up trying to keep Stella off the furniture. This little boy must be Carl – Emily Thorne and Jack's son. He watched me whilst Jack and Nolan spoke about Amanda.

Something was bothering me, Jack had been to all the places he and Amanda spent time at, and she wasn't there- not even at the old house she used to live in.

"Nolan… I think I have a theory over where she is."

"Where, Riley?" my uncle prompted a response from me.

"Okay, but she might be at the safe house. If she's not with Scott I mean."

"You alright for a road trip, Jack?" Nolan asked.

Jack nodded eagerly. "Who's driving?"

"Me!" Carl said, throwing his hand in the air.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Oh no- what's wrong with Amanda? Is all as clear as we think?... In the next chapter, there's going to be a reveal over Club Cat's Eye, but is Riley ready for it all to be exposed?**


	12. Chapter 12 - Misunderstanding

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Can't wait to see what you think of this chapter, it's definitely so much fun to write!

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 11**

Once Jack clipped Carl's booster seat into place, we were ready to go. I agreed to drive to where I suspected that Amanda might have gone to. My little ski chalet just north of the Hamptons. It was a place that Jack wouldn't have originally known about, so it seemed like a plausible idea. As I drove along the main highway, every now and again, I would glance up in the mirror to see Carl poking his tongue out at me before giggling in the most adorable high pitch- thus confusing Nolan and Jack.

"You two need to stop looking so miserable – it'll be alright," I said, trying to make them feel more at ease.

Neither Nolan, or Jack said anything to me.

"Where'd she go?" Carl asked, staring at his dad for an answer.

"I don't know, little man. That's what I hope we're going to find out." Jack's hand reached out and caressed his son's head, gently stroking his hair.

My hands slid around the steering wheel as I drove down a narrower road. Driving along the narrow road always worried me and made me hope to never encounter a car along it.

"Riley…" Nolan said in a worrying tone.

"I see it," I snapped, sharply pressing the brakes as a large black sedan came shooting up the road, heading straight towards us. "What do I do?"

"Reverse!"

I did exactly as Nolan asked, but there was no where near enough time or space for me to get out of the way. So I went for plan B.

The roadside ditch.

My little car jumped and dipped, just missed by the massive car that shot past. In my chest, my ribcage was thumping from my heartbeat. That was close, way too close.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked. "Because that was way too close-"

"Get out of the car!" a muffled shout startled me.

As I turned my head, I nearly leapt across the car into Nolan. Standing on the outside of the car was a figure wearing a balaclava with a gun in his hand. I was glad that it wasn't a scary clown mask – because that would have terrified Carl beyond belief.

"Get out of the car!"

"Nolan?" I asked, seeking some kind of reassurance, thinking that he must have been in similar kinds of situations.

"Don't try and drive off, Riley- we're solidly stuck in this ditch." Nolan tried to reassure me, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear. "You'll be okay."

I opened the car door and slowly planted one foot on the floor.

"That's right, slowly, no big movements, or face the consequences."

There was no way that I was going to let this guy hurt Nolan, Jack or Carl. These were important people to both me and Amanda. I had to risk doing something. My mind was cast back to when I first trained with Scott and he fell in the water. Use their strengths against them. The guy didn't look so confident, I could see his hands shaking as he held onto the gun.

"What's the message?" I asked.

"What? Message- I- uh, there isn't a message. I wasn't given one."

I swung my leg through the air and caught the guy in the stomach. In a split second, he doubled over and I threw myself at him. We clattered along the dirty road and wrestled with one another.

"Who sent you here?"

"No one- I've been instructed to say it was no one…" He growled, gritting his teeth.

 _I know that voice- I know it… Where have I heard that voice before?_

"Riley!" Jack called out and making me roll off the guy. He instantly managed to get the gun out of the young man's hands and had them on their front. Jack gripped their hands together even as the guy winced.

"Careful Jack… You're hurting him." I gently nudged Jack, bringing him back round. "I need to ask him some questions, get him in the car. There's some cable ties in the boot…"

Jack and Nolan looked at me with a confused expression.

Rolling my eyes, I opened the boot slowly. "You can never be too careful. Let's just appreciate the fact that I have them."

I fastened a cable tie around the guy's wrists and even though it wasn't advisable, we moved Carl into the passenger seat and put the two men in the back, sandwiching our attempted kidnapped.

"Where are you going?" Nolan asked.

"Back to where I made my investment…" I said calmly, pressing the gas hard and rolling over the bank onto the road again. "It's not far."

We sped along the road at such a fast rate because I didn't want to give the chance to meet another car. Turning the car further down the beaten track, I pulled up on the drive of my little ski chalet.

"Here we are – part of where the money my mother gave me went…"

Everyone piled into the house- I left Carl playing with some old toys that I had brought up from Florida in my room so that he wasn't aware of what was going on.

"Okay, let's see who we're talking to..." I said, lifting the black knitted balaclava from under the guy's chin and off his head. "Luke!"

"You know this guy?" Nolan asked, looking back and forth between myself and Luke.

"Yeah- he, he lives in the Hamptons… I've seen him around. First time I saw him, he was busking, and it was good. The music was good and I gave him some money- more than he was expecting from the look on his face. Luke has even performed- sang at the hotel. Not the Beach Club, but the Old Forks Inn, or wherever it is called. I don't understand. What- what are you doing here?"

"I'm not saying anything to you…" Luke swore, before hanging his head down.

"Come on kid-" Jack said, but I had to stop him.

"No, no Jack – let me handle this," I interrupted calmly, pulling a chair up to sit opposite Luke. "Why were you brought into this, Luke? Who bought you out?"

"Nobody did anything to me." He frowned at me as he lifted his head.

"We both know that's wrong…" My foot rested against seat of his chair, right between Luke's legs. "Come on Luke- give me a name."

Luke suddenly turned jittery and he couldn't keep still, so I knew I was getting somewhere with him.

"It's a shame really, I thought we were going to be friends, but now that you've been swayed to pull a stunt like this – and when I was in such a rush to find a friend. You picked the wrong time, Luke." Angered, I shot my leg out straight and put some strength in it.

The chair fell back.

Nolan was first to react and grabbed me before I attacked Luke. "Woah Riley, calm down…"

"No, he knows he can give us a name. We can offer better than what he's being offered." I ripped away from Nolan, straddling Luke and gently holding my arm up against his neck. "Tell me the name, Luke – I'm not playing games! Back off Jack!" I added when I saw him about to pull me off.

"Okay, okay." Luke coughed.

Instantly, I realised what I was doing. "Oh my god… Luke, I'm so sorry." Evil butterflies slammed the walls of my stomach. "This isn't me." I backed away, knocking over a photo frame and seeing the one of me, Nolan and Scott falling to the floor.

The glass cover shattered and I flew from the sight in a flurry of panic. _Run. Run to the lake_. That's what I did. At the lake, I breathed heavily, doubled over with my hands resting on my knees.

"Amanda…"

She was sitting down on the stones near the waterfront.

"Amanda?" I asked again, sitting down beside her.

Then we both said the same thing.

"I need to talk to you…"

It was such a surreal moment and the silence between us made me believe that we had a strong bond because of Nolan, despite having never really known each other very long.

"I'll go first…" I decided quickly. "Leo was in a car accident. We were on our way to the Labour Day Party and he admitted that he had slept with another woman. I couldn't stand the dishonesty, so I broke up with him… Then, at the party, I got with Brody, and I mean that I got with Brody. We slept together and I know that I did that sounds so hypocritical, but I was mad and Brody was being so kind, caring and just showing me so much affection that I went for it. Brody is someone who has made me so happy. When I was with Leo, it felt so forced and put on – something wasn't right but, but with Brody, it's different. I don't know what to do."

Amanda looked over at me. "You just have to be careful. I've been there before, and I can sympathise with you, but Leo deserves to know the true – that's the one thing I wish I had done all those years ago."

I smiled. "Thanks Amanda – you know, everyone's worried about you. What are you running from?" My hand brushed hers. "You can tell me – I won't say a word."

"It's nothing, I just need some time… A new baby is one thing, but there's a lot of history. Jack and I originally had a surrogate arranged, yet when it came to giving up the baby, our surrogate changed her mind and refused to hand it over. So I took matters into my own hands and with surgeries to fix old scars and some egg donors. The doctors told me it was the slimmest change to conceive a child. When I realised that I was pregnant, I couldn't have been happier, but I still worry that I'll lose the baby. Because then it would all be my fault-"

"No… it's wouldn't be your fault Amanda – just like Jack said. These things happen all the time. Everything happens for a reason, but you've got a second chance and a guy who is utterly devoted to you. This baby is at the centre of everything. You're going to make the most protective and caring mother around, just like mine."

"It isn't always that easy… You'll understand when you're older, and doesn't you're old enough, because you are barely twenty years old." Amanda shrugged it off.

Something was bothering me, and I had to know if Amanda knew anything about it. "Amanda- what is Club Cat's Eye?"

"Scott told you about that?"

I wanted to say yes so that Amanda accidently told me, but she was smarter than that. "No… Nolan said if I wanted to know more about Scott and how he plays people, then I should ask him about Club Cat's Eye."

"You want to know? Because once you know, it's going to be difficult for you to help understand why Scott is the way that he is…"

"Please tell me Amanda."

"Believe me Riley, I want to tell you, but you have to hear it from Scott, because he's linked to it in one way or another. He's the one you need to hear it from." Amanda smiled gently, for the first time. "You know, you're a good person and everything will turn out just fine for you. Hopefully with fewer deaths. So what happened with the intern – Shannon Fisher?"

"Well, I gave Scott some intel that I gained from Shannon- she was a closeted lesbian with an anonymous blog. He created a post with a little bit of my assistance, and he released it at the Labour Day party – but because of Brody, I never really saw it. Then the next morning, Shannon came to the house and started attacking me because I was the only one she had told and I outed her. I denied it. When she started attacking me…" My hand showed her the cut on above my eyebrow. "She told me that Leonard Myers and someone she was with blackmailed her to misrepresent Trinity Patterson. Brody intervened and then she put two and two together. I begged her not to tell Leo, but now I feel like I owe her."

"You should be honest with Leo - he should know that there is no you and him, before he finds out from somebody else- like Shannon." Amanda went back to hugging her knees. "How is Scott?"

"I don't actually know. I haven't seen or spoken to him in a while… Not that you'll want to know, but Bella admitted that Scott might not actually be the father of her baby. I can't even imagine what must be going through his head. All I can do is be there for him."

"Be careful though, Riley. He's use you if he can- that's why he didn't reveal that Leo was in fact Leonard's son."

"I want to do something for you, Amanda… Can you agree to accept what I'm about to offer you?"

"That depends on what you are about to offer me. But you will only get an honest answer once you have asked the question."

"Will you accept the ski chalet as a temporary home for you, Jack and Carl? It's not right that the three of you should live on a cramp boat. I can move my stuff out of the room – you can furnish it with whatever you like. It's can be your temporary home if you want it…" I held her hands gently in mine. "Let me do something for you after all of the help you gave Nolan. Please accept, and please come back- there's something you ought to know about. You'll know what to do."

Amanda got up to her feet with a little of my help. "Maybe suggest it to Jack and see what he thinks, and you can tell me what's happened on the way back."

"Okay – so Jack and Carl came to the house wanting to know if we had seen you. That guy is utterly devoted to you, and I had a feeling that you'd be hiding up at my little chalet because Nolan and Jack wouldn't know about it. Only Scott knows and Jack doesn't know him so it was down to me, so I drove towards here, but a car ran us off the road and into a ditch. Then this guy in a balaclava ordered me out of the car, he had a gun. Long story short, the guy is at the house and I know who he is. Luke. He's a small time musician in the Hamptons."

Amanda seemed uncertain. "If you want to know who sent him, then you're going to have to admit that he might not give you an answer."

"I know but I'm scared, when I tried interrogating him, I turned into something I'm not proud of."

"You showed your hidden self. All of the darker emotions you bury down occasionally resurface for a moment. It's all about controlling it."

"But Amanda, I nearly suffocated the guy. I was so aggressive in the way I spoke to Jack and Nolan that I feel absolutely mortified…"

We reached the side door to the chalet where I let myself in. Unlike all the scenarios I had played in my head for what the next minute might be like, Luke was still in the chalet, tied to a chair.

"Amanda…" Jack rushed to her side. "Where have you been- no, that doesn't matter. You're okay."

She smiled and squeezed Jack's arm. "I'm fine," she started before turning to me and Nolan. "Who are the possibilities for his employer?"

"Well I suppose it would have to be Leonard Myers," Nolan said, stroking his chin slowly.

I shook my head. "No, it's not him… Let's discuss this in the next room…" I was conscious of the fact that we were mentioning particular names and when we had already openly let Luke into the chalet, it seemed like the best opportunity to be extra careful. "Come on." When the kitchen door was closed, I continued. "It wouldn't have been him, because he doesn't know about Scott and Hydra. What if it were Arnie- sent to scare me out of the way…"

Amanda looked at me in a way that said she didn't know who Arnie was, so I darted my eyes over to Nolan.

"Riley, you're going to have to stop blaming everything on Arnie – especially when he has nothing to do with it."

"Well who then, Nolan? You're not going to start telling me that you think Scott might be responsible, are you?" I frowned at him as I tried to make my point.

"I wouldn't immediately put him to it, but it wasn't Arnie, okay?"

"How do you know?" I asked exasperated.

"Because I just do, okay?" Nolan was already squaring up to me, just inches away.

Amanda put herself between us, gently pushing Nolan away saying, "It's okay Nolan, Riley is only looking out for you. Is there anyone else that might want to hurt you or get you to do something for them?"

"Well if we're saying it's anyone – we could say Jordan Campbell… Or even Shannon, but I'm clutching at straws…" I murmured.

"Let me say that it wasn't Campbell, Shannon or Myers." Amanda glared at Luke in a stern wave, crouching in front of him with her hands resting on the chair. "One more time – Scott or Arnie…"

There was a minute of silence – where I assumed Amanda was trying to determine which of the two guys it was – I just hoped that it was really Arnie, because it sounded so unlike Scott.

"Arnie did it, Nolan…" Amanda looked over at my uncles with an apologetic look on her face.

"Stop talking…" Nolan muttered slowly. "You know, I'm getting sick and tired of you- the pair of you- just bad mouthing Arnie. Just because he produced a slightly altered article about Trinity Patterson, you think it must have been his fault that this kid came after us. It wasn't him- it… it must have been Scott – that's the only explanation."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Nolan, please, listen to Amanda- you know that she wouldn't lie to you-"

"Maybe she's jealous. Maybe you're jealous that you didn't find happiness as quickly as I did…"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" I mumbled. "Because I'm the happiest person for you because of Arnie – I know all about your past… but you clearly say that you choose Arnie over me, and I don't think I can stay in a house where the homeowner chooses to keep him in the house. Don't worry. I'll be moving out in the next week. Nolan, I care about you way too much to let you be blind sighted like this. Arnie beat you senseless- you needed life threatening surgery because of him, yet you let him back into the house that you, and me, and even Stella live at. Stop being blinded by your relationship please. Nolan, you won't get any family. I'm the only one left. Please…"

"Go… go on, you move out." Nolan turned away from me.

There was a cracking sound as my heart split inside my ribcage. He was breaking my heart through his naivety and inability to just listen to what me and everyone around him would say.

"Okay…" I whispered, zipping up mu denim jacket before walking out the door.

"Riley- wait!" Amanda called out from the doorway with Luke by her side. "You better take him home."

"He doesn't deserve my help…" I sneered at Luke. "There should be a bullet in his skull for the stunt he pulled."

"Don't be so quick to think ill of Luke just yet – he's willing to help you." Amanda pushed Luke forwards. "Arnie really did send Luke, so you just need to think how you are going to show Nolan, and I accept your offer- Jack and I will look after the chalet for you. Everything will be okay, Riley, but you need to take care of yourself." She held out her hand to me. "You know where to come if you ever need a hand."

"Of course…" I shook Amanda's hand before turning towards Luke. "In the car, now."

Luke climbed into the passenger seat and it was then that I realised that what I was about to do was taking a lot of trust, it made me worry a little at first, because it was totally not what I wanted to do, but I had to – so that I could prove to Nolan that Arnie wasn't the one that he should be with.

"Okay Luke, you need to start talking to me, and start telling me everything…"

Luke shook his head. "No, I'm not telling you anything."

My foot slammed on the brake and Luke just about managed to brace himself against the dashboard. "I'm the one driving Luke," I started, locking the doors with the switch on the driver side door. "So if you want to survive the next hour, then I seriously need you to start talking."

Silence. Dead silence.

"Luke!" I shouted, making him flinch a little. "Tell me!"

"Alright, alright!" he squeaked back. "This guy- he approached me and told me that if I threatened some girl in the Hamptons, that he would help me out career-wise. When I asked who he was, he told me a name and said Arnie… He gave me a gun and told me to try not to use it. It wasn't something I was willing to do- but I was just so desperate to become a professional musician that this is what I end up doing in order to get there."

I continued driving. "And has Arnie been in touch with you recently- or was it just that one time?"

"No- he came to me loads of times. He gave me a little money too, and well, we spent a lot of time together…"

Little cogs in my brain were clicking as things began to fall into place. "You mean, you and him-"

"Luke, are you-" I had to ask, just to make sure.

"Yes, I'm gay Riley." Luke ruffled his hair up a little. "Most people say that that's the first thing that people notice about me."

"Well the first thing I noticed about you was the gun you had pointed in my face so, forgive me for not noticing straight away. So you and Arnie were- you guys were kind of like an item, right?"

"Sure, I guess you could call it that. He was, he was special to me, but now from what I understand, he's also seeing that guy Nolan that you live with… Now, I feel stupid for allowing Arnie to make me believe that I was the one for him." Luke's fingers dug into his jeans as the car powered on down the road, back onto the highway towards the Hamptons. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'm going to meet up with my friend who can help me to organise how we are going to show Nolan what Arnie is really like… Because I've been waiting for an opportunity to prove to Nolan just what Arnie is like."

I showed up at Scott's house and was glad that Bella was not around, because I haven't seen her since we went to the nightclub together. Not that I wanted to – she didn't want me in Scott's life- she didn't even want me at their wedding. Obviously she felt threatened, but that was only my jealous perception…

"Riley – where have you been? It's been weeks… The last time I saw you was at the Labour Day Party, and even then, you disappeared earlier, but I exposed Shannon's orientation. We've got her for the moment, though I'm not finished with her."

"Yeah," I murmured, pointing over at my car with my thumb. "This kid's got an interesting story about Arnie. Scott, I really need your help… I- I- I'm moving out of Nolan's house. Part of me cannot stay in a house where my uncle would rather have someone who beat him senseless in the house, over me- his…" I was so close to saying his niece, but I had to stop myself, because no one was allowed to know anything about my family or my real identity. Instead, I continued to tell Scott about Luke and what he did – and how Arnie was linked to Luke. "Please help me protect Nolan, Scott."

"Alright, don't worry- everything will be fine…" He pulled me close, hugging me so tightly and resting a hand on the back of my head. "You know I'd do anything to help you."

Inside Scott and Bella's beach side house, it was furnished entirely by Bella- none of it screamed out Scott. Apart from one or two photos and canvased artwork. I even walked past a gold frame which was home to Bella's magazine article and the photoshoot that accompanied it.

"She's a real self-loving kind of person, isn't she?" I whispered, hoping that Scott wouldn't hear. "Sorry- I didn't mean that…"

Scott looked at me in an apologetic way. "I'm sorry about Leo – the crash, I mean…"

I felt a blow to the stomach. _Wait. How? How did Scott know?_ "We broke up – for real this time. Last time. I can't keep getting my hear broken from all the things that he's done to me. It's not right, it wasn't right."

He smiled at me softly, before turning his attention onto Luke. "So Luke, how can you help us?" Scott and Luke continued to talk about what they could do.

We were going to have to go in and go hard. It was decided that Luke would be in the house to simply confront Arnie and explain everything to Nolan, but something happened after this decision where I just couldn't shake off the feeling that it was important.

Scott got a phone call and answered the phone, he walked out the conservatory doors, but I could just make out most of this conversation. "I thought we said not to use this number… Okay, that's fine, but do you have what I need?... Right, the code is Aphrodite. Tonight. The club… Don't worry, everything will be perfect. Right, cool…Bye…" He disconnected the call and came back inside. "We better go over to Nolan's now – it's time to expose Arnie to Nolan for the final time."

"Yeah, I'll drive us there…" I felt like if I drove us there, then I would be able to find out more about this phone conversation that Scott had – because I just knew that it was to do with Club Cat's Eye, and I wanted to know what was so unusual and why Scott was so involved in it. So by driving, he would be forced to ask me to drive him somewhere, or so I expected.

Scott and I waited by the pool – sat on the marble like wall that lined the outside of the house. Stella sat protectively at our feet, I no longer felt nervous about having her outside by the pool after Brody and I helped to train her to swim. I had to stay outside for some fresh air and Scott joined me and we waited in silence. We let the minutes tick by until Arnie and Nolan returned home. At least they returned home together. Luke was sat down on the white sofa when my uncle and his boyfriend returned.

"I should go inside…" I mumbled quickly to Scott. "You stay out here- out of sight with Stella."

"Be careful." Scott led Stella away as I stepped into the house and pushed the sliding doors to.

Nolan was glancing back and forth between Luke and Arnie. "What is talking about, Arn?"

My uncle's boyfriend stuttered and stammered as he tried to find a good answer. "I- No- Nolan, he's lying. This kid's obviously lying. I would never ever do anything that would hurt you. Nothing…"

Luke gasped, "That's exactly what you said to me – is that just your go to line?"

"Come on Nolan, let's be real. Would I really ask you to marry me if I was having it on with some kid down the road?" Arnie took a hold of Nolan's hand. "I love you, Nolan."

This was news to me. "You asked him to marry you?" I frowned at Arnie, and then looked to Nolan. "And you said yes, didn't you? Didn't you!?"

"Of course I did, Riley. I love him." Nolan was so calm and collected that I worried even more about him. "Serious."

"Even after you were hospitalised by Arnie? Even after you've just found out that he threatened my life? Even once you've realised that Arnie was still shacking up with some kid from the Hamptons, you still want to marry him?"

"Riley, you wouldn't understand, so stop judging me…" Nolan looked at Arnie with such a love and affection, that it only made everything feel worse. "I guess… I think- I forgive, forgive him for it."

"You aren't so certain about that Nolan. If you have any doubts whatsoever, then you wouldn't do this to me. Nolan, you misrepresented Mrs Patterson in a single newspaper article and dragged her good name through the dirt and-" I had gotten a little carried away and spouted out about Scott's mother.

"Nolan, what is she on about?" Arnie folded his arms and watched us both closely. "Why does she know about that, Nolan?" His grip tightened considerably around my uncle's wrist. "Answer me!" he shouted.

"Stop it – you're hurting him!" I lunged forwards, but a sharp shove from Arnie's free hand pushing me back and I tumbled over the sofa.

Luke just about caught me and helped me back onto my feet.

"Let go of him Arnie please – I'll do anything if you just let go!" I yelled, hoping that Scott would hear that the situation was heating up considerably. Without caring about being hurt again, I walked around the sofa towards Nolan and Arnie, but this time, it was my uncle who stopped me. "Nolan."

"I'm sorry Riley…" Nolan walked over to the door with Arnie – part of me couldn't really tell who was leading who.

"Don't try and follow us, kid." Arnie pushed Nolan further out of the door, out of my vision. "See you later."

"No- Nolan!" I called out. "I won't let you-"

Then I was facing the end of a barrel. The barrel of a gun.

"Go back inside."

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Another chapter out of the way, and it's a much longer chapter than I normally do – not that I really keep track of how long they are! And I hope that you liked what I added in, Star – thank you for your reviews so far!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Risk

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Nothing makes me happier than reading your reviews, so don't forget to review!

 *** I just want to stress that some people may deem this chapter inappropriate on levels, but I am writing a story that will push boundaries, so you have been warned – review me if I'm right, or wrong ***

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 13**

"Go back inside, Riley!" Nolan called out, stumbling down the path ahead of Arnie.

"Nolan- you can't be serious- this is crazy! I can't just let him take you away!" I leaned on the doorframe in an attempt to really stop myself from following Nolan and Arnie. "Please don't do this, Arnie…" Inside was screaming out for me to save my uncle, but I couldn't say the word 'uncle'- not while everyone was listening. Scott, Arnie and even Luke.

Arnie pulled Nolan closer. "Don't tell me what to do. I've spend far too much of my life just listening to what women have to say, and do what they want. No more!" Arnie shouted, opening the car door and forcing Nolan in.

Luke bumped into me. "Arnie- don't do this… We can get away together and have a fresh start someplace. With Nolan's money…"

"Not this time, Luke." Arnie was strong and stern as he walked around the car to the driver side.

That's when Scott bundled Arnie aside. They were both out of side and although I could hear a struggle, I couldn't bring myself to move from the doorway. I was petrified that something would happen that I couldn't move – but I desperately wanted to. Then a single gunshot sounded.

"Scott!" I screamed out in a panic stricken manner, tripping down the steps towards the other side of the car. "Oh god…" On seeing the sheer amount of blood, I turned away, gagging at the thought and memory of the blood – the vast volume was terrifying. "Scott?"

Arnie was lying on his back with a wound on his chest. His eyes were stuck in an open position with a shocked expression on his face.

"Scott, are you okay?" I ducked down beside him and placed my hands on either side of his face, tilting it about to inspect him. "Scott?"

He batted my hand away, holding onto it. "I'm fine- just shaken."

I heard the scuff of shoes and saw Nolan standing beside Archie's lifeless body. "Scott…why? Why did you do this?" Nolan dropped to his knees. "The Ross curse…" His shoulder shook as he started to cry. "Why did you do this?" Nolan's hands shot out and gripped Scott's shirt, shaking him roughly. "Why?"

"Because-" Scott backed up against the car. "Because you and I both know why." He gritted his teeth as he was forced up against the car. "He was manipulating you against both me, and Riley – I think that in a way, he was aware of my link to the Hydra Corporation. That meant that he knew you must have been in on it too, so he used you as insurance. Arnie must have thought that your engagement was that insurance to keep you on his side- and by his side. To the extent where you wouldn't be able to give evidence against him or something. He wasn't really devoted to you, because he was still so engrossed in his side relationship with Luke and meeting up with him in hotel rooms to give as much attention to you. He was never loyal to you and you know that deep down."

Nolan blinked, debating what Scott had find- agreeing as tears fell down from his face. "It's true- he knew exactly who you were. That's why he told me that the police were after me in regards to Shannon's attack – to place the doubt and make you question my loyalty. But there was more to that than met the eyes. He knew you were Scott Patterson, so I knew that I had to go with him and do what he said, because if I didn't, then he would out you as Scott Patterson, the son of Trinity and Raymond Patterson. He'd tell the world that you were trying to bring down the Hydra Corporation. I'm- I'm so, so, so sorry for not telling you Riley. And for all the things I said to you-"

I stopped him and held my arms out to him. "I don't care. You told me the truth, and that's all I wanted. I don't care why, just as long as you are okay…"

He hugged me tightly and I tucked my chin over his shoulder. "Everything will be okay, between us, right?"

"Of course Nolan, of course it will… Just as long as you stop judging me for my own life choices…"

"I don't suppose you're talking about Brody, are you?" Nolan asked, wiping his nose a little. "Because I don't mind him so much really. I like him. We actually get on quite well."

Scott seemed a little confused with what we were talking about. "Wait, you and Brody are, together now? And he's already met Nolan. Wow… You do remember that Leo Myers just got into a fatal car accident and you're jumping into bed with the next guy you see?"

I wasn't appreciative of the way Scott had put it. "Well there's a little more to it than that- but that is completely and utterly irrelevant right now. Perhaps we should find a way to dispose of Arnie's body- now I didn't expect to hear that sentence leave my mouth… I know I didn't like Arnie, but I would never ever wish him dead."

It wasn't an action that I enjoyed doing, but burying Arnie's body had to be done. Nolan, Scott and I returned to an empty home – Luke must have disappeared just after the commotion and gunshot. He certainly wasn't around to help us out. Myself, Nolan and Scott sat down at the kitchen counter to discuss the next step.

"I still can't believe he's dead- oh god, I'm sorry Nolan, that was insensitive." My eye looked over to Scott, and I made the effort to change the conversation topic. "And I'm still not happy about Shannon blaming me for the reason that she was outed as a lesbian in her own blog…but I'm not going to dote on it too much. That is all on you. Part of me is still going to be angry at you for that, but I care too much about you to let it get me down. I guess I'm just lucky that Brody was there to stop her from beating me senseless." I gazed into Scott's brown eyes and wondered what he was going to say. The thought of his next words made me regret the fact I had inadvertently mentioned Brody's name.

"Well we all have our knights in shining armour, right? So when did you two actually become an item?" Scott smirked a little at me.

"If you must know- I used to know him when I lived in Florida… Brody knows me more than I think anyone knows. He would always cover for me whenever I snuck out of the house after curfew. My mother asked him to protect me. In doing so, he killed his mentor to save my life and was there for me when no one else was… When neither of you two were there." I was tentative of the words that I chose regarding my past life.

"Yeah, right… I see what you mean there." Scott's phone buzzed again. "Sorry, I have got to get this."

I had had a niggling feeling that it was about Club Cat's Eye and I hadn't found out the truth behind this club. Though I knew that I wanted to, but I waited for Scott to disconnect the call.

"I got to go now, but I'll be back tomorrow to discuss some more details over the final step with Shannon." He went to leave, but I called out to him.

"Can I offer you a lift anywhere?" I asked calmly, eager for him to say yes.

"Erm, yeah. I guess that would really help me out. Thanks Riley."

"Anytime, let's go then." I grabbed my car keys from the glass bowl and turned back to Nolan. "Can you make sure that Stella gets her dinner? I'm sure I'm not going to be too long, but she's due it soon."

Nolan nodded before waving his phone at me, as if to say he wanted me to check my phone in a minute.

In the car, Scott suddenly went quiet.

"You okay, Scott?" I asked slowly, turning the car around in the driveway. "You do know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

He gave me directions as I drove through the Hamptons. "I- everything is moving so rapidly now… I'm not sure if the timing of everything is right. Bella is a couple of months pregnant and with every day that passes, I'm constantly wondering as to whether her baby is really _our_ baby. She told me that she slept with someone and the dates are too close to know for definitely. Then there is all the jobs that she's doing- all these modelling things like openings, shoots, interviews and auditions… In a way, she's disregarding all the scans and pregnancy related things because of her busy schedule – which could be dangerous for the baby. I'm terrified that she'll reveal who I am- even if she believes that my name is actually Scott Peters, but what if people know my face and links me to my parents… Bella wants to let the photographers into the wedding, but I'm not so sure… It's a huge risk to take, and I don't know what I'm going to do otherwise. Then there's me and you-"

"Well there isn't really a ' _me and you'_ , is there? We've had this discussion already and you know that. Not with your pregnant fiancé and-"

"And the fact that you have both Leo and Brody fighting over you and you just can't decide between the pair of them which one you want to be with. I know, I've heard it all before- No, what I mean is, that – that it's obvious that we both like each other. We kissed that night after you went clubbing with Bella and Shannon, and now there's other stuff that is going on that I need your help with… but I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Well you have to be honest with me some day, Scott. We're supposed to friends and I will help you out until the very end, you know that. But I worry about you- so do Amanda and Nolan…"

"You can take the exit here… on the right."

"Really?" I questioned it when I saw a not so classy looking establishment. "Scott?"

"Don't ask any questions- but I will tell you everything later."

I stopped outside the establishment where in a bright pink neon sign, was 'Club Cat's Eye' – I was on the way to finding out the truth. A lady with curled brown hair and an unhealthy smearing of pink lipstick tottered up to the car in her heels that were just too tall for her to walk in.

"You got a code, sunshine?" she asked in the highest but raspiest voice imaginable.

Scott stepped out of the car and whispered something in the lady's ear before allowing her to escort him into the building.

Just as I was about to pull away, I noticed a text from Nolan, and also one from Brody, but I read Nolan's first.

 _Riley- you gotta be careful, because I'm worried Scott's going to go AWOL or MIA. It's not worth putting yourself at risk just to find out about C-C-Eye. He's going to ask you to do something risky and I would recommend you say no. Uno x_

'Uno' was a little nickname that stood for Uncle Nolan ever since we realised that we couldn't risk blurting out anything that signified our family relationship. To the outside world, we were just a guardian and his ward.

Brody's text sent a warmth to my heart and I felt a fuzzy feeling in my chest.

 _Hey Ry- it's your hot thing here, listen, I'm going to be out of town tonight but I'll definitely be back tomorrow so we can spend the day together – just napping is fine with me. I cannot wait to see your beautiful face. I feel like the luckiest guy. Anyway, looking forward to seeing you Xx_

It was weird to think about how fast everything had suddenly progressed, but I didn't care because I felt so strongly for him.

On the way home, I thought about all the moments I had shared with Brody. When he would tend to the Campbell Compound gardens, and would do it shirtless! Teenage Michelle would blush at the sight of it out her bedroom window. I would try and catch a glimpse without being too obvious, but I think he knew I was deep down. He used to cover for me when I snuck out of the house by disabling some of the CCTV my father had in place. I can even remember this one time, he hid away in my en suite bathroom because he had done something unthinkable in the gardens (and to this day, I have no knowledge what it was.) I got the fright of my life when I heard him having a shower- it was a cocky side of him that I found a little bit attractive. And now, he had proved he really cared for me, and wanted to protect me – even if he was really sent by my mother.

But he really cared about me, far more than Leo ever showed at any point in our relationship.

The next evening, Scott came to the house and we sat on the pristine white sofas that faced one another. Stella was an excitable little dog whenever Scott was around that I struggled to keep her calm. Nolan remained quiet, and it was clear that once the excitement of seeing Scott had worn away, Stella changed her tone and jumped up onto the sofa beside him. She perched there and nudged his arm with her head.

I smiled softly at how in touch with everyone's emotions she was. As the silence continued, I looked across and Scott and then shifted my gaze sharply between the two men. Like I was saying that he needed to say something to Nolan – an apology for Arnie's death.

"Nolan- I'm sor-" Scott started, but my uncle was faster at delivering an interruption.

"You do not need to apologise for what you did. After all, you and Riley had warned me not to get too engrossed in the relationship, even after I said that I wasn't going to get carried away. I did get carried away, so I should be apologising to you both – though I don't think I'll be able to take the active role in this revenge case. Not at this point. Don't worry, I'll help out with the technology or communications stuff…"

I helped Nolan finish his sentence. "You just don't want to get hurt after what happened, we know that Nolan." Then I turned my attention to Scott. "What did you want my help with?"

"It's a slightly risky situation. It could put you in danger. Which is why I didn't want to ask you straight away. That place that I took you to, it's called Club Cat's Eye… It's a- well, it's a high end strip club."

 _O-kay, this story was not off to a very good start… yay. It was merely confirming what I already knew._

"But it's linked to the Hydra Corporation in one way, I know it is."

"How?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm struggling to see the link."

"Well it's something that is linked to Todd Bell – the man who investigated the finances of the company and blamed it on my mother. I suspect that he fixed the books in order to make it look like my mother was to blame. He's been coming to the club for a while now, but every time he does, he doesn't find a girl that he would like to spend a session with. I've done some digging – as has Nolan, and it's apparent to me that a girl of your appearance might be just what he's looking for. So to catch Todd Bell in a slightly compromising position with another woman might not go down well. Mostly because of his marriage. No wife likes the thought of their husband getting comfortable with another woman."

"I don't think Bella would really like that either… Why don't you get Bella to do it for you? It sounds more like her sort of thing…" I remarked sarcastically. "So you want to whore me out- like some kind of prostitute? Scott, even you must think that's a little bit sick. Nolan, what's your opinion of this ludicrous suggestion?"

Nolan looked away. "You know my opinion already, but it's not me he's asking, it's you – the decision is ultimately yours, Riley."

"You need to tell me more about Club Cat's Eye, Scott."

Scott rubbed his forehead. "Club Cat's Eye is a high end club where you can only enter with the correct codeword. It's- I'm kind of an investor because of the connections I have with it. So I am close with the owner of the establishment and can get you in, telling her that you might be what Todd Bell is looking for and that he is a worthy customer who could pay handsomely. Trust me Riley, I don't like this thought any more than you do, but I cannot just sit back and let Todd Bell continue to linger at the club when he is to blame for my mother's sentence. He's so close, but so far – all I want to do is bring down the people who brought down my mother. He's one of them, and I have to do what it takes."

"Even if I have to put, like, my own reputation and well-being at risk?" I asked calmly. "Because if it does go wrong, I don't know how you'll be able to fix it..."

"I know, and of course I care, you mean so much to me, Riley… Please do this one more thing for me."

It was getting so hard to say no to him. "On one condition."

"Name your price." Scott's eyes stared at me in disbelief.

"You won't like it… I want Brody there in case anything goes wrong." From my perspective, if this was to go ahead, I wouldn't want to keep Brody out of the picture – I wanted to be honest with him.

"Wait. You're really going to agree? Just if I had Brody there?" Scott asked with a voice that sounded like he was completely shocked by my attitude. He instantly held out his hand. "Deal?"

I went to shake his hand, but then I realised that Scott would definitely take the mickey out of Brody if he got the chance. "Wait…" I said, taking my hand back. "And no funny business with Brody's job that'll humiliate him, okay? I mean, like he's not a dancer, naked waiter, or anything like that… A fully clothed respectable bartender, deal?"

"You got me…" Scott admitted in defeat. "It's a deal – he can bartend because no doubt wonder-boy will be an expert mixologist."

"Don't be jealous, Scott – green doesn't suit you and it doesn't do you any favours…" I moaned, before hearing the intercom go off. "Guess who."

Brody was at the front door wearing a more casual attire of jeans and a burgundy hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Hi…"

"Hey Brody, you okay?" I kissed his lips and pulled him into a close hug. "I've missed you."

"Me too – so what's been going on?"

"Well I need to ask you a favour, come on." I smiled, pulling him closer. "Brody's here, Nolan."

Brody and Nolan's hand clapped together in a sort of manly, but casual high five. "How are you doing, Nolan?"

I froze with wide eyes at Brody who seemed so calm about the question he had asked.

Nolan slowly let go of Brody's hand. "Well I suppose as good as it gets when your fiancé dies."

"Yeah, sorry about that man, but there are plenty of hot guys in the Hamptons that would leap at the chance…" Brody stopped mid-sentence when he saw the look I was giving him. "Or women, who knows…"

That added sentence did not help at all. Brody was aware that I would rather Nolan got back together with Lou as, from what I hear of their marriage, they were happy.

"So what's this favour that you need to ask of me in front of Nolan and Scott, Riley?" Brody smiled, as if he was trying to find the humour in the situation. "You guys are kind of worrying me just a bit by the fact you aren't laughing, you know…"

I took his hands and guided him down into the spare seat that sat by itself, away from the sofas. "Now, you know how Scott is eager to bring the Hydra Corporation down after what happened with his parents. He's about to tackle the next person in that line and he needs my help, but I only want to do it if you agree to help out too."

Brody's eyes locked with mine. His sea blue eyes were so beautiful that I could stare at them all day. "I think I'm going to need to know more, from Scott…" He pulled me down to him, and because of this awkward movement, I practically fell down onto his lap.

Looking over at Scott, I waited for his version to Brody.

"As part of my cover and just a general backup plan for bringing particular individuals down, I am an investor in a high end club-"

I knew this wasn't what Scott should say. "No Scott… All the details." My hand squeezed Brody's hand, feeling it completely dwarfed in my own. "It's okay, he won't mind."

"Okay, fine…" Scott whispered, before raising his voice to a more normal volume. "It's like a gentleman's club, but high end- dancers, poles, performances and private sessions, but nothing more than that-"

"No," Brody said abruptly in a low tone.

"Brody!" I exclaimed. "Hear him out…"

"Why should I? He's pretty much- he's whoring you out like a- I don't even want to say what. There's no way I'm having my girlfriend dance about and straddling random men – gentlemen or not – because of some vendetta he has for his parents' actions."

Agitated, Scott rose to his feet, causing Brody to almost throw me off him and do the same. Trapped between the pair of them, my head dropped with a hand on either one of their chests, pushing them apart. Even Nolan stood up and pulled Brody back.

"Hear him out for the whole matter…" Nolan said calmly, leaning into Brody. "All the way through."

"Okay…"

I smiled at Nolan, mouthing my thanks to him. "Go on Scott."

"It's not what I want to do – it's just that, well, the next person that I want to bring down is Todd Bell, the finance and accountings assistant. He comes to the club every week to see what's new, but he turns down nearly every single girl. I have, I have a suspicion that Riley might be that girl. So I hope to blackmail him by threatening to tell his wife if he takes the bait-"

"Bait! You sneaky son of a- my girlfriend is not just some form of bait for you to dangle in front of whatever guy you want to destroy." Brody was so angry that Nolan was restraining him.

I quickly stepped towards Brody and Nolan. "Brody- he wants both of our help… You would be there the whole time, honest. Bartending. The dancer and the bartender does kind of have a nice ring to it." I placed my hands on his chest and looked him square in the eyes. "I'm doing this whether you approve of it or not, so I think you should agree, just so that you can be there. I'll be okay. Scott will be there, so if you're there, I won't worry at all…" My head tilted to one side and I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"For you." He instantly kissed my cheek in an almost forced way. "Sorry."

"It's okay… It will be okay." I placed my hand on the side of his face. "Stop worrying about me, because I can take care of myself."

The weekend that followed was the preparation day for the evening I would go on duty at Club Cat's Eye. Scott was going to be there, and Brody insisted on coming with us, which I didn't blame him for. At the club, I was introduced to Serena, the owner of the establishment.

She was gorgeous. With slightly tanned skin and dark blonde hair styled in loose effortless curls, she walked as if she owned the room – admittedly she did own the building financially, but in general, she carried herself with grace, elegance and fire. Serena was wearing a black jumpsuit which had the most daring plunge to it that I was both in awe and envious of because she had a big chest for such a slender woman, and she pulled it off.

"Scotty-dog, where have you been hiding this little gem?" she asked, with her gaze fixed on me as I stood there. "She's beautiful, but can she work the room?"

Right now, I was wearing a grey velvet zip up hoodie and these tight little yoga shorts. I felt comfortable, but knew that what was about to happen was going to test me slightly.

"You think this is what Mr Bell is looking for?" Serena sat down in one of the plush chairs that were clustered around the stage which was almost like a star in the centre of the room. "Sit down Scotty-dog, you too my little blue-eyed-boy." She made doe eyes at Brody, waving her finger at him in a beckoning manner.

He glanced at me and then sat down beside Serena.

"What's your opinion of her?" Serena asked Brody, looking back and forth between us.

"She's got a girl next door look to her, but I guess she's got a lot to offer. She looks good, but can she work for it?" Brody chose his words carefully.

"Well come on, entertain us…" Serena said.

I'm not really sure what to say happened next. I did my best, and that didn't look like it was going down well, I teased and somewhat managed to dance with Brody, until Serena started clapping her hands. Whilst it was one of the most awkward moments of my life, I had to do it to help Scott.

"Oh you have something else, Riley…" she murmured.

Brody handed my hoodie back to me, glancing momentarily at the bra that I had worn especially for the occasion – probably because he didn't recognise it himself. He winked at me subtly.

Serena stood up and started to walk around me as I zipped up my hoodie. "You know, it's just a case of gaining experience, but maybe Mr Bell is after the inexperience. I suppose it's a path that I haven't investigate as of yet. Though I'm not sure if you can put on the same performance for other gentlemen as you did for your boyfriend."

I glowered at Scott, but he put his hands up defensively as if he was saying he hadn't said a word.

"It's alright, I don't mind. You suit one another as a couple, I can see the chemistry and attachment. It's hard to miss, I'm surprised that Scotty-dog didn't mention it to me beforehand. So what stage name will you be going by? Riley doesn't quite seem quite as attractive as the other ladies I have. I've got a feeling that you would make a good Persephone…"

I guess all I could do was nod.

"Persephone. You've got a lot to learn so you better go and talk to Midnight. She'll show you the ropes." Serena pointed me in the direction of a door by the side of the bar. "Off you go."

As I passed, she swiftly slapped my butt, making me do a little quickstep towards the door. Caught off guard. I walked along a little corridor that was lit up by UV lights until I found a door with the name Midnight on it. I knocked gently on the door and waited for it to open.

"You must be the new auditionee, and if I am right in thinking, you must be the newbie. They don't send interviewees to see me right away, Riley…"

 _She already knew my name, but how?_

"How- how do you know my name?" I asked, stepping into the room.

"Scott told me…" she replied.

I had to think for a moment. "How do you know Scott?"

"One of the main reasons that he is so intent on being an investor is so that he can look after me and-" Midnight's sentence was cut short when a quiet cough and whimper could be heard. "Oh no…" She moved the costumes on a rail to one side, revealing a baby carrier with a tiny baby in a blue babygrow on. "Oh baby, it's okay… Mummy's here, Mummy's here…"

"You have a baby with, with Sc-"

"Oh no, god no. Scott's my baby brother. He's always been looking out for me – in any way he can. In a way, he's the older sibling by his protective nature… He wants to do right by me and baby Vinny ever since the money I was supposed to get from our parent's deaths went to my husband. Me and bubs have gone into hiding under Serena's wing. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get out of here, but the money I earn goes straight to Serena who feeds, houses and looks after us. Well I guess I should introduce myself to you, Riley. I'm Una, Una Patterson, Scott's big sister and from what he tells me, you came into his life just a little too late. You really mean a lot to him. Which is why I'm going to look out for you, girly." She put baby Vinny down in the baby carrier before turning back to me, embracing me so quickly that I didn't know what to do. "Thank you for being such a support system to him. Thank you from me for everything that you are doing to bring our mother to justice."

"It's okay- I really care about Scott too, so I want to help in any way I can. Family is important to me too. It's a horrible place to be in."

"You talk as if from experience, what's wrong with your family, girly?"

"Oh, nothing… Just a few family dramas here and there…"

Me and Una spoke a lot – we got on really well which only made it more painful going back into the main room where Scott was waiting. Brody and Serena were at the bar talking about drinks and his cocktail knowledge. There were a few empty cocktail glasses on the bar. For a moment, I watched Brody toss the shaker about, throwing it in front and behind his body like some kind of professional.

"Scott…" I whispered, walking slowly towards him. "I'm so sorry." With tears building in my eyes over Scott looking out for his sister, I put my arms slowly around him, tiptoeing to measure up to his height. "You should have told me about your sister, and nephew."

"There never was a right time," Scott murmured, squeezing me tightly, I could feel his hands on my back. "Thank you."

"It's a game of risk, Scott. The stakes are high and I'm all in." I pulled away slowly, wiping the tears with the back of my sleeve.

"Well Todd is due to come tonight as you know, so it's all to play for. If anything goes wrong, then wonderboy and me will be here. You just give us the signal, if at any point you feel uncomfortable with him, or it's getting dangerous, you get out."

"You're worrying me Scott. So is Serena aware of what is going on?"

"No, she's not – from what she knows, I'm just doing this because I want what's best for the club, my family and Mr Bell can pay."

"You realise I'm not going to do anything sexual with him, right?"

"Of course- I know you, Riley, and I know that you aren't like that…" There was a look in his eye that made me think that he was referring to our kiss in the sea, but not related to the conversation. "Brody seems to get on well with Serena – as he did with Susie. Seems like he's got a thing for the older woman."

"Stop it Scott… Susie Myers?"

"I'm serious. There's something I don't like about him, I mean it." Scott frowned at me. "I'm serious."

I didn't know whether to allow the seed of doubt to be sown, or to just leave it. I left it, but that seed was now germinating in my mind.

That night, Serena gave me the smallest dressing room, which was like a broom cupboard where a mirror was positioned on top of a small dresser. She also gave me an 'outfit' for tonight. One that was racier than I would have liked, but I had to remember that this was all for Scott's revenge case. Nolan agreed to wait in the car outside – I guess it must have been an awkward situation to think of your niece dancing in Club Cat's Eye. Especially when it was obvious that he had prior knowledge of the club.

I wore an elegant black mask, fingerless leather gloves and strappy silver heels to go with the silver piece of clothing that could only be described as a cross between two pieces of swimwear and underwear. At the start of my shift, Serena asked that I waitress first to break the ice, because many of the men and woman in attendance will like look at the fresh meat before paying for any additional services or sessions.

Brody grinned at the sight of me before putting a small glass on the counter containing a gold, amber coloured drink.

"What's that for, Brody?"

"That's going to be Persephone's Ambrosia for tonight- to help loosen her up and get her in the zone. I'm here if and when you need my help, Riley… At any time."

"Stop worrying, it'll be okay." I leant across the bar and kissed Brody's thin lips. "You got my back, and I got yours."

"I'll have some of what he's having…" one guy said, sitting down where I stood.

 _He had walked right up to me – Todd Bell was right there beside me._

"Well that might depend," I replied carefully. "He's one of my special customers… perhaps if you talk to Serena-"

"It's fine, I don't need to talk to Serena, me and her and on a close first name basis- I don't think she'll mind me talking to one of her new dancers," the man asked Brody for a particular drink and then turned to get a good look at me. "So what does she call you?"

"She's called me Persephone… Guess I'm just trying to run away from Hades."

"Well maybe I can be your Hades." Todd smiled in a daring way that forced me to laugh awkwardly. "Come sit with me and watch the show." He knocked back the drink that Brody slammed down on the bar for him before offering me his hand.

I placed mine on top of his as he walked me to the star shaped stage where there was a girl working at each point.

"How do you like it here?" Todd asked, putting his arm around my back.

"Well I guess it's a job, and I love to perform, but I prefer private sessions where I get to feel a connection with my valued customers."

"Maybe if I play my cards right, then I'll be able to see how you perform. You're different from all the other girls… Not even the famous Midnight is right for me. You like Midnight?"

"Midnight is no more than a fellow worker to me – part of her is like a sister to me, but in another way she is a colleague." I smiled, placing one hand on his shoulder. "Don't tell me that you would rather share the evening with her over me, because I might just have to do something extra special…"

"Extra special? Oh I like the sound of that," he said in a flirtatious and sensual tone.

The way he spoke was utterly repulsive, but I forced myself to stay in the game.

"Whenever you're ready, the ball is in your court after all."

"Well, maybe we can go somewhere more private…" Todd whispered, about to kiss my cheek, but I moved away. "Oh, playing hard to get?"

"No, I'm just a private person so I want to wait until we are alone. Come on, there are the private rooms, and I haven't had the chance to check out these gorgeous private rooms yet. You seem like the perfect client to have." I stood up slowly with my hands clasped on his. "Come on then…" My eyes connected with Brody's and then Scott's before nodding.

I walked with Todd towards the private room and went straight for the room which Nolan and Scott had rigged with cameras to capture anything incriminating, but when I went to that door, Todd stopped me.

"Let's go in this one." He pointed to the door next to the one I was supposed to go to.

"Oh-right…" I mumbled, going to the one that Todd was leading me to. As he went inside, I just about managed to catch a glimpse of Scott and I looked at him with the most petrified look.

He read me like a book, and almost as soon as Todd had sat down and taken off his jacket, the fire alarm began to go off. "You've got to be kidding me. Not this time."

As I reached for the door handle, Todd blocked my way, I barely heard him move if I'm honest. Then the sprinklers turned on.

"We have to get out of here…" I whispered calmly.

I was caught between a rock and a hard place- I couldn't knock Todd out, because that wouldn't work in Scott's favour. Instead, I had to hope that Scott would be on the other side of that door.

His voice called out from the other side of the door. "Persephone, we have to evacuate!"

Just in a split second, I managed to move Todd's hand and open the door.

"Scott," I gasped as he put his arm around me with a soaked grey fleece to drape around my shoulders to cover me up.

"It's okay…" Scott led me out of the club and we waited for Serena to address the remaining customers that were still in the area.

Brody rushed to my side and hugged me tight. "I have to get you out of here now. This can't happen again. My mother may have done this for a living, but I don't want to let you do it-"

"But Brody…" I murmured, dripping wet and glancing between Scott and Brody.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl – OH god! I don't know what to make of this chapter, it's a lot to happen and I cannot think of what you are going to think of it either**


	14. Chapter 14 - Mistrust

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Nothing makes me happier than reading your reviews, so don't forget to review!

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me, it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 14**

I couldn't believe that Todd Bell had slipped from our grips. I buried my head into Brody's chest as the rain soaked through our clothes.

Brody, Nolan, Scott and I returned home where I was able to change into dry clothes and offer Brody some of the clothes that he had left in the bottom drawer of the dresser.

Just as Brody and I were about to go out of my room, I pulled him back. "About what you said earlier."

"I mean it, Ry. There is no way I'm letting you do that again. It's dangerous and there's no knowing what that Todd Bell guy could have done to you. He – he could have forced himself on you… and I could never have forgiven myself if something like that happened to you."

"It's okay Brody. I'm okay, you don't need to worry…" I kissed his cheek and snaked my arms around him. "You need to stop worrying, because it's not like you at all. Plus, I can take care of myself."

"Ry, I worry because it happened to my mum, and that's how I ended up with a little sister… I love my sister more than anything, but I can't imagine what must be going through my mum's mind."

I could feel my eyes go wide and my stomach turn as my brain processed that. "I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry." Brody gently pushed me away and headed out the room.

Stella scampered into the room and jumped up at me, resting her paws by my knee. She clearly wanted a cuddle so I lifted her up and accepted the lashings of her rough wet tongue.

"Riley, come on!" Nolan called out.

"What's wrong?" I asked, walking into their view.

"We need to think about a plan B, because Todd will be on his toes after that stunt Scott pulled." Nolan looked over to Scott with an apologetic look on his face. "Although I'm glad you did set off the fire alarm, it's put us in an awkward position."

Scott shrugged. "Not entirely… There's a chance that what Riley was wearing may have been bugged. Hey, I'm not proud of it-

I was infuriated. "You did what?! Please tell me you did not put a camera in that suit!"

"Calm down. There was a wire fitted into the suit and a camera into the mask, but as soon as we give the footage and recording to Mrs Bell, Todd will know exactly where, or more who, it came from… For all we know, the water damage to the camera may be irreversible." Scott opened up my bag – much to my dislike as he didn't ask – and took the silver suit out.

I watched eagerly as he prised a microphone and wire out of the suit's lining. Then he plucked one of the large, central sequins from the mask – the camera. "I don't really know how to feel about this…"

"Well you can think a little positively, because it means that we can tidy up some footage and start to lead Mr Bell astray more so…" Scott smiled at me slightly. "Just give me a moment, to upload it onto the laptop." He took the laptop from behind the bin drawer and plugged in the camera and microphone in order for the upload to begin.

Then there was a sharp knocking at the front door. Nolan and I looked at each other in confusion – the intercom hadn't allowed anyone in, so why or how was someone at the door already?

"I'll go and get it," I mumbled, walking away from Brody and heading towards the door. I found my gaze met by Leo's. "Nolan…"

In an instant, my uncle was standing behind me. Leo smiled as I opened the door, but I was still so hesitant. It didn't help my thoughts when I knew that he must have discharged himself from the hospital seeing as he was still wearing his hospital gown.

"Leo- does the hospital know you're here?" I asked, looking down at his feet which were scratched and bloody. "Did you walk here and climb over the wall, Leo?" Remaining calm, I held my hand out to Leo, who clearly wasn't feeling right. "Take my hand and come inside… Nolan, call the hospital, get them to inform Susie Myers the whereabouts of her son. Get the guys into the office." I helped guide Leo towards the sofa where I unfolded an old navy blanket for him to sit down on. "Are you okay, Leo?"

Leo didn't say a word – he just looked up and smiled at me. "Riley, I missed you. You didn't come and visit me since the accident, so I thought you were annoyed with me. I'm just so glad that you are alright – that you weren't in the car when I was driving." He closed his eyes and moved closer, quickly darting in for a kiss, catching my lips, but I put to a stop to it immediately.

I stood up abruptly, looking over to Nolan, and then back at Leo. "Leo, the hospital knows that you're here – they're going to be coming here soon. Your mum is on her way."

"Riley – what went wrong with us?"

I froze instantly, wondering what the answer to the question should be. "Okay, I'm telling you this because you deserve to know the truth and it's not fair for me to string you along. So before you got into the car accident, we had a little bit of an argument and- well you admitted that you slept with another woman. That really hurt me Leo, and things finished between us there and then. I got out of the car and you drove away. Leo, you tore my heart in two." I buried my hands in my face. "But, I have to be honest with you, because I've moved-"

The intercom buzzed and moments later, Susie Myers was let into the house by Nolan.

"Leo – what are you playing at?" His mother went closer to him. "Come on, you're father's waiting outside, let's get you back to the hospital…"

At the mentioning of Leo's father, Leonard, being outside, Nolan and I shot each other a look that sent shivers down my spine. The man responsible for the imprisonment of Scott and Una's mother- and baby Vinny's grandmother. Leonard Myers was outside the house. I couldn't imagine what was going through Scott's mind as he hid away in the study.

"Riley!" Susie exclaimed. "What are- how did Leo- how are you?" There was a shake in her voice, like a tremor.

"I'm fine, but Leo should be at the hospital… and I don't think it's good for him to come and see me." Even my own voice shook a little.

"Why do you say that, sweetheart?" Susie asked, clearly wondering what the problem was.

Leo looked up at his mother from the sofa. "She told me that in the accident, that I told her I had sex with someone else- someone who wasn't her…"

Susie didn't react, she just shrugged it off in a second. "Come on Leo, let's not worry about it. She's over you…"

Leo pushed his mother away, standing up. "But I love her- I love you, Riley!"

My mouth dropped in dismay. "Stop it Leo, I'm over you- I have moved on. I'm with someone else-"

"It's Scott, isn't it? Scott Peters couldn't keep his eyes off of you. He's got feelings for you, and you do for him." Leo got close to me and put his hands on my shoulders, before he snapped. "Tell me the truth!"

"Alright!" I squeaked, feeling Nolan by my side. "I'm over you because I have moved on, with someone who I know from Florida- from before I came to the Hamptons. Brody…"

"Him…?" Susie and Leo gasped together.

"Yeah," I mumbled slowly. "This isn't how I wanted you to find out Leo, I genuinely wanted to tell you once you had fully recovered from the accident."

Leo's mother pulled her son aside and nudged him towards the door. "Do not talk to my son anymore, young lady. You are nothing to me, and I am appalled by your behaviour regarding my son. If you dare talk to my son or even come near him, then I will personally knock you to the ground… I wouldn't waste my money getting someone to do it for me."

There was a silence in the house, which Nolan broke, saying, "I don't think Riley is completely to blame for the current situation… but I think it's best that you leave now."

As soon as Susie and Leo were gone, I let Brody and Scott but into the room – but my boyfriend seemed somewhat nervous with me. At first, I took no notice.

Scott looked at me with a smirk on his face. "So the cat is out of the bag. No more Riley and Leo – it's all about Brody and Riley now."

It was like he was taking the mickey out of my new relationship, which angered me.

"You know what Scott – you need to stop this, this constant need to pick at my relationship. I don't do anything like that to you and Bella. Just because I'm not with you, doesn't give you the right to- to make jokes and laugh at me and Brody…" I growled, only for Nolan to try and calm me down. "No, Nolan."

"Come on, Riley!" Scott laughed. "You jumped into bed with him the moment you broke up with Leo. It's hardly a typical romance. You two aren't going to last."

I had to stop Brody from doing anything horrible. "Don't you even think about it, Brody. He's not worth it-"

"Riley, did you not hear how Susie Myers reacted to hearing you and Brody were together? You know there's something in it, you just don't want to admit it."

"Brody, come with me- we're going to my room…" I took his hand and began to drag him away.

Scott retaliated again, "What? So that you can make love like nothing is wrong with your relationship?"

Brody may not have said a word, but I wasn't going to stay quiet anymore.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I screeched in a squeaking voice, tears of anger building in my eyes. "Stop it- go home to your pregnant girlfriend and wonder whether her baby is yours, or someone else's!"

Scott rushed towards me. "Well it's funny because I'm pretty sure that it's your ex-boyfriend that she went behind our backs with…"

 _What? Leo and Bella?_

"What?" I whispered.

"Well it's only an assumption, but he's the only one that it could have been. Looks like you and me have more in common than you think…"

I pushed Brody back into my room whilst Nolan argued with Scott about what had just happened. "Okay, so, I will not lie to you, but I noticed what Scott said too. Susie Myers, Serena – you always found yourself getting on better with the older woman…"

"You've let him get inside your head, no, no, no. Come on, Riley. You know that I would never ever do anything to hurt you. You have got to believe me."

"I do… Brody, if I didn't believe you then I would break things off now. I don't like to mislead people and lead them on because it's happened to me so many times in the past."

"You know, we should have a date night or something. With just me and you – no one else. No Nolan, no Leo, no Todd Bell… No Scott." He said Scott's name with such a harmful spite that I was scared to confront him.

"Stop it, Brody. I just had to ask because it was a niggling feeling I had myself… Before Scott even said anything – it's only that he gave me the nudge I needed to just ask you."

"He gave you a nudge! Oh man Riley, this is our relationship! You can't be serious, can you?" Brody waited for an answer, but I couldn't give him an honest one.

"I- er, well-"

"You know what, Riley? This is utterly ridiculous! I have done absolutely- I've done nothing wrong! Scott is lying, he's just trying to come between us." Brody was showing me an angry side of him that I had never seen, but his voice grew louder and louder. "I get that you are trying to help Scott out to bring his mum to justice, because that's just the amazing person that you are, Riley! Take a step back and look at the stuff that you've allowed to happen. He misled you and withheld the fact that he knew Leo was Leonard's son. Then, you carry on dating Leo, yet Scott chose not to tell you about Bella – but he still flirts with you. He also didn't specifically tell you that Bella was his girlfriend, or about the fact that he was going to propose to her, or any of that. And at your favourite restaurant too? Oh… It doesn't stop there, he uses your relationship with Leo and then uses your friendship with Shannon. You lost your only friend to his cause. He alienated you against her, and if it weren't for me, she would have battered you and smashed your head repeatedly into the floor. And after all that, your so called best guy-friend was willing to prostitute you out for Todd Bell…" He frowned at me so hard that he could have cracked his skin.

"Stop it…" I murmured quietly. "Please."

"You know what, I'm leaving. I can't deal with your crap and inability to decide who it is you're in love with. You're supposed to be my girlfriend, yet you can't stay away from your ex-boyfriend, Leo, and you struggle to stay away from lover boy out there!"

"Don't be so childish, because that's not my fault and you know that. You're the one I want to be with. Talk to me- tell me what you want me to do?"

"I don't want jack from you. I'm gone."

Without another word, he walked out my bedroom and out the door – not even saying a word to Nolan or anything which threw me because they were so tight.

"Brody, wait!" I called out, but by the time I got to the front door, he was already gone and driving away.

There was a tightening feeling in my chest and a lump protruding from my throat from the sadness and emotions. I let out a soft wail as I dropped to the floor. An arm draped itself around me, and I turned away, but they were quicker and pulled me closer.

"Yeah, it's fine Scott, I'll take over from here. You better go home. I think you have done enough damage and meddling right now…" I heard Nolan mumble quietly. "Riley, I know that it hurts now, but it will all be okay."

"I'm just. So, so, so angry with myself for getting caught up in Scott's revenge case."

"About that- I may need your help to do a bit of digging. You're going to need to get your darkest outfit together."

"Why?" I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "What are you going to do?"

"The Hydra Corporation building was never used again after the case evolved, Leonard Myers moved his company into a new building and I want to know if he left anything behind that might come in useful."

"What about Scott?" I asked calmly.

"Like Ams and me say, he's slipping up – he's becoming ruthless and if we are all going to be able to help him, then we have to do our own digging, don't you think?" Nolan replied, squeezing me tight and kissing my forehead. "Your mum would be proud of what you're doing for Scott, and just how far you have come…"

"Thanks Uno," I said, smiling broadly.

Nolan drove us over to the old Hydra Corporation building, which like he had said, had been completely abandoned. We were standing in what I could only describe as a bad part of town. It was the sort of place on t.v shows where you could only hear a distant police siren and a lonely barking dog. The kind of place you didn't want to be alone or unable to defend yourself.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this, Riley?" Nolan asked calmly, looking me straight in the eye as he adjusted the hood of his black sweater. "Because you don't have to if you don't want to."

Something caught my eye that caused me to not give an immediate answer. It was the dimmest torch light shining across one of the windows on the higher up floors from inside. I chose to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.

There was some police tape hanging limply from the entrance which made me feel as though we were not the first ones to venture into this abandoned Hydra Corp building. It was dark and empty inside. Empty space filled the room apart from a curved reception desk.

"Where are we going?" I asked Nolan who was walking towards the elevator. "Are you sure it's a good idea to take the elevator? Who knows how long it's been since they were working…"

"Maybe you're right, but don't moan when we climb all those stairs…" Nolan said quietly, turning towards the staircase.

All I could hear was the gentle scuff of my shoes on the floor, which only made everything more eerie. It was bad enough doing something which felt potentially illegal, but when these were the circumstances, I felt worse.

"Maybe we should call Scott and let him know-"

"Ssshh!" Nolan snapped, putting his arm out to stop me and pulling me back down a couple of stairs. He pressed his fingers to his lips and looked up the stairs again.

A quiet metallic clang rang out overhead, making my heart rattle in my ribcage, but for some reason, Nolan carried on climbing the stairs. All the way up to the seventh floor out of thirteen…

The seventh floor had a key card slot to enter it. I frowned at the wall where the silver device was plastered to. Because Nolan was clearly more used to this than I was, he pulled out a credit card shaped key card and felt the need to explain.

"It's a long story – one which requires Scott swiping it from Shannon…"

"Right," I whispered, closing the door behind us.

We sidled along a few corridors, and as we went along, Nolan would coordinate our next moves using the building plans to avoid as many cameras and dead ends as possible. My uncle even went to the trouble of spraying black paint over the cameras that inconvenienced us.

"Here…" Nolan said, opening an office door and stepping inside. He didn't even explain what we were looking for.

I waited by the door and felt my stomach twist when I saw the name on the door.

Mr R. Patterson – this was Scott's dad's office. Where he was shot… Where he was murdered.

"I don't know about this, Nolan. It doesn't feel right to go into his office when I know that this is the place that a man died…"

"Well, you can just wait if you'd prefer." Nolan carried on rifling through some cabinets for anything that might be worth nabbing. He dropped a black rucksack onto the desk.

Everything looked so cleared up, but the filing cabinet that Nolan had moved on from bugged me. Something didn't look right to me. The top of it, it looked like there was an extra storage space on top of the cabinet, but it blended with it so well.

I pulled out the top drawer and felt the roof of the cabinet. It was like a canvas layer had been placed there. Using my nails, I pierced the material and a small letter package fell gently into drawer below. Without even checking it, I placed it into the rucksack and lift one strap onto my shoulder.

As I looked up at the wall, I noticed a family photo. It was of the Patterson family, and everything in it looked perfect. The photo was of Scott's graduation – he was wearing his navy robes and standing in the centre of the photo. At either side of him was his mother and sister, then his father beside his mother. In Una's arms, was the tiniest baby Vince. Although it wasn't really relevant, I couldn't help but put it in the rucksack.

"Anything else-?" Nolan asked, but he stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?"

"No, what?"

"Sssh! Someone's coming!" He waved at me to signal that I should get down.

I ducked down under the desk and tried to stop my heavy breathing. The rucksack was now digging into my bag as I waited for whoever else was in the building to pass through.

"Wait a second, did you go in here?" a soft female voice asked from the direction of the doorway.

"No, come on. It's nothing, let's get out of here…"

That voice, it was the one voice that I thought I would never hear.

It was Brody's voice.

"Yeah, you're right. For all we know, Leonard probably has people on surveillance of the building."

Then it clicked – I knew the woman's voice too. Susie Myers.

I had to bite down on my hand to stop myself from crying out in pain and shock.

"Come on Brody – let's go get out of here…" Susie said, with a giggle in her voice. "Are we ever going to get away? Florida might be good this time of year-"

"No, not Florida." Brody's reply was abrupt and I knew exactly why Florida wasn't a good idea.

Because of me. Because whenever he thought of Florida, I would bet money on it that I would be his first thought.

When Brody and Susie Myers had gone, I emerged from my hiding spot and looked at Nolan. He covered his mouth with his hand.

"I don't know what to say Riley, really, I don't… I can't even say I'm sorry because it wasn't something that I did…"

"Why? Why would he do that to me?" I sniffed, leaving my head resting on Nolan's shoulder. "I didn't think Scott was right, but he was…"

"I'm sure that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation. You have to give him the chance to explain Riley, just in case."

I felt miserable the whole entire drive home, wondering what possible explanation there could be for Brody to find himself in the Hydra Corporation building with Susie Myers, but I couldn't think of anything that sounded remotely plausible.

Scott was waiting back at the house with Stella on his lap.

"I really wish you'd stop letting yourself into my house, Scott…" Nolan said harshly. "It's too early to have discussions about Hydra."

"B-but, well… Nolan-" Scott stammered uncontrollably. "I've really messed up. Really, really badly."

I frowned at him. "What did you do?"

"I- Bella. She, I – she might know I'm not Scott Peters… She might know I'm really Scott Patterson…"

"Oh Scott," I sighed, realising that this might be a bigger issue that Scott was making out.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = BAM BAM BAM! What are you thinking? Is it over between Brody and Riley? What's going on with Susie and Brody? Does Bella know about Scott's real identity?**


	15. Chapter 15 - Distress

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Hey! Thank you so much for checking this story out – it means a lot because I love writing about this story!

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me; it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 15**

I was sat down at a little seaside café waiting for Bella to arrive. It was her idea, so I had to go along with it, because my paranoid side came out and I thought that she might tell the world that Scott Peters was in fact Scott Patterson. If she really knew I couldn't even bring myself to take a sip of my soda – the stakes were just too much for me to contemplate relaxing.

"Riley?" Bella said, dragging the chair out beside me.

I leapt up off the seat and offered to grab to a drink, to which she asked for something that I had never heard of. With reduced this and substituted with that in an attempt to be healthier for the life that was growing inside of her. Part of me was so happy- I loved children and wanted to have one of my own someday, but because of this baby, there was always going to be this barrier between me and Scott. That tore me apart inside, because I had this attraction to him, but I couldn't be the 'other woman'. Not when a baby was involved. Because that is exactly what my father did to my mother.

"Here," I said, placing the cup down onto the table for her. "It's incredible seeing you like this. Like, more pregnant…" I tried to smile, but she wasn't so cheery. "What's wrong, Bella?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she replied softly.

"Come on, I know that we've had our differences, but I'm pretty good at telling when people are lying to me." I reached out and brushed her arm. "Because you're doing so right now."

"Riley- I, I don't even know if I trust him. Does Scott lie to you?"

"Well he has in the past, are you having doubts?" I had to know, and she was keen to probe me for answers, so I would play her at her own game.

"Yes. No! Of course not… It's just all happening so quickly. Interviews, photoshoots, engagement, moving in together and now my baby…"

 _Not our baby._

"Come on Bella, that's a good thing. In the time that you've done all that, I've had three failed relationships."

"What happened with Brody, the sex god?" She used bunny ears in reference to what she had called Brody when she had consumed a fair amount of alcohol.

"It's. complicated, and not important right now, we're talking about you. Are you okay?" I pressed her again for an honest answer.

"Oh god Riley, how do you manage this? You are a gorgeous and beauty individual who sees so much good in people. Even Shannon- she never seemed like a positive person, but you were still her friend through everything. And Scott thinks so highly of you. I like you too."

"Because everyone has some good in them somewhere, it's just about finding it. Bella, you can tell me about anything you want to."

"Riley, I'm terrified. I'm meant to be getting married to someone who spends the minimum amount of time with me. He's so distant and I'm supposed to be having a baby. Everything should be perfect right now, but something is wrong. I don't even feel like his name is Scott Peters… and if I don't even know his name, then should I be getting married to him?"

"Bella, I can't tell you whether you should or shouldn't marry Scott. All I can say is that if it's meant to be, then it will be. Only you can decide whether or not you want to marry him. Is there someone else?"

"Of course not, Scott is the one I want to be – I've spent the best two years of my life with him, and we've comforted each other through so much. So normally, I would think that a baby would complete everything. But it doesn't feel like it has. Scott has distanced himself from me and the baby in any way that he can. Whether that is by not attending scans or baby classes, he ignores them."

It didn't sound like Scott, but he had a lot on his plate and probably didn't want for Bella or the baby to get hurt. Which I felt was understandable, but for Bella, she clearly didn't and wouldn't see it in the same.

"Riley, do you want to?" Bella asked, smiling at me.

I had zoned out, I had completely zoned out and missed exactly what Bella had asked. She looked so cheery that I felt that I had to say yes.

"O-okay, I guess so…"

"Thank you, thank you so much Riley. You know, ever since I moved from California to the Hamptons, I never felt like I made friends, until I met you. Through Scott of course, but still. With you as my maid of honour, I feel me at peace with the wedding. This means a lot, Riley. Thank you so much." She moved closer and hugged me gently. "Thank you Riley."

"That's, that's okay," I whispered, wondering how on earth I was going to explain this situation to Scott.

Then again, he would probably just awkwardly laugh.

After seeing Bella at the café, I then trekked over to Nolan's office in Hamptons Beach Club where Nolan was with Scott discussing a new move for the revenge case. The TV in the background was a little distracting, but I managed to block to out whilst my uncle and Scott spoke to me.

"Hey Riley, how are you?" Scott asked, smiling calmly.

"Never mind how are you- Riley, you look like you've seen a ghost." Nolan was slightly more in tune with my emotions than Scott.

Scott rolled his eyes. "I could tell that, I just didn't want to pry unless Riley wanted to say."

"It's nothing you guys."

"I smell burning…" Scott said, smiling before pushing out the chair beside him. "Take a seat, tell us about it."

"Well I'm not sure if you'll like what I have to say, and I don't really know how it happened, but- but I ended up being. I somehow agreed to being, being Bella's maid of honour."

Nolan nearly choked on his drink when he heard what I said. "How?"

"Seriously… I don't even know. What I remember is zoning out and then she asked me if I agreed with something. I couldn't say no, so I said yes…"

"That's not your smartest idea, you know Riley…" Nolan sighed. "It's bad enough that you are close to Scott and the Hydra case, but to put yourself at the centre of this wedding. It's a little on the unusual."

"I know! I know!" I squeaked. "I don't mean anything by it, but I didn't want to say no. She told me a lot about how she was feeling…"

Scott seemed a little interested. "Oh really. What did she say?"

"It's not important."

"Well it is if it means that we can determine whether or not she is aware of my true identity." Scott leant back in the chair, but as I looked down, I noticed his hand resting on the back of my chair.

"I think it's okay, don't worry… With the maid of honour at both your side, there's no need to worry."

Nolan rolled his eyes. "Enough already you two."

I looked over at the stuff on the table, and then the black rucksack that was now in between Nolan and me. "What's that doing here?" I asked, panicking about the Patterson graduation photo and what Scott would think or say.

Nolan opened up the rucksack. "Well, there are a few bits and pieces that I wanted to look at here, so I decided to bring the bag itself – that way it wouldn't be left leaving around."

I reached for the bag, wondering if Nolan knew all that was in there. Apart from the possibly meaningless work files from the Hydra Corporation. "Scott… Would you do me a favour and grab me a drink from downstairs?"

Nolan lifted the phone off the handset that was on the table behind him, but I kicked him sharply. "Ow!"

"Please, just surprise me," I asked, trying to be sweet and calm of which was gone as soon as Scott disappeared downstairs. "Are you serious? Are you trying to make me look like some crazy stalker who is obsessed with him and his family…?"

"What are you on about?" Nolan started pulling the contents of the bag onto table, but the photo wasn't there. "Oh, you mean the graduation photo, don't you? I need to show you that later."

The way he spoke was so awkward yet serious that I knew whatever it was important.

"Nolan," I murmured when the next news story came on. "Nolan…"

He slowly turned around in fear and panic.

" _New evidence has surfaced on the whereabouts of newspaper reporter Arnie Cooper. Mr Cooper was believed to be missing earlier last week and police reports have concluded foul play. Fellow reporter Gina Barrett reported his disappearance when he didn't return to their shared apartment and claimed this was unlike him. Police are now compiling evidence together, but plead for any individuals in the Hampton area with information on Mr Cooper's whereabouts to come forward and-"_

Nolan switched off the television and then propped his elbows on the table, rubbing his face with his hands. "I think we've got a problem…"

"What do you mean? It's not like this Gina Barrett knew about you and Arnie, did she?"

Nolan looked as though he didn't want to say anything else, but was prompted by the glare I shot at him. "There's a – she might have known about the fact that Arnie and I were together, and that Arnie was considering proposing- but I only know this because when I went to destroy his phone, there was a message that came up from her asking about me…"

My mouth shuddered as I tried to string a sentence together. "I – well, erm, we should… It's going to be okay. It's not like she has any evidence against you or anything so we have got nothing to worry about."

"Riley, I need you to-"

Scott called out, "Hey, what are you doing? You can't go up there-"

There was the thundering set of footsteps coming up the stairs to Nolan's office. I stood up so quickly that I fumbled to stop the chair from falling over.

"Nolan," I whispered, feeling a knot bulging in my stomach.

"Don't worry about anything, Riley… Just get my lawyer to meet me at the station." Nolan closed his laptop and turned to face the stairs.

Two policeman came up the stairs with Scott bringing up the rear.

"Nolan Ross, we are here to bring you in for questioning. Please come quietly, otherwise we shall just have to use force, and we don't want to make a scene either," the older of the policemen said, rolling his eyes a little as if it had been the longest day ever.

The younger of the two police officers was a young guy who looked as though he used to be a surfer dude from Australia, but he couldn't take his eyes off of me.

I shook my head, moving between the police officers and Nolan. "Come on, what's this about, officer?"

"Step aside, blondie…" the older guy sighed, pushing me aside.

I am not even a blonde, I am a brunette if anything… but I couldn't react, because this was the police. Even if this older guy was so unorthodox in his methods. He pushed me with force unnecessarily.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Nolan snapped, jerking his hands out of the police officer's grips. "I didn't put up a fight, and I will go with you without a fight. Let's just go. Riley, take care of the club whilst I am away."

The older police officer grabbed one of Nolan's arms and dragged him downstairs, whilst the younger one dipped his head in my direction as an apology. I ran to the window and watched them drive off with Nolan in the back of their police car.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" I stammered, running my hands through my hair as I began to pace about Nolan's office. "Scott, I'm panicking, panicking about everything… I- what am I, what are we going to do?"

Scott shook his head and his hands trembled. "I don't know, but I have got stuff I need to do." Just like that, he went towards the door and I slowly started to crack.

"Don't leave me. Don't turn your back on me, just like that Scott… Please. You have got to help me get Nolan out of police custody."

"But I can't – that's not my plan… I have a small window to bring Todd Bell down and I cannot let it pass."

"Scott! Are you freaking kidding me?!" I shouted. "Me and Nolan have done nothing but help you in every way that we can. I can't even have a solid relationship without having you and your vendetta from messing it up. Yes, you were right! Brody and Susie Myers, but you know that!" I walked closer to him to whisper, "And we both know who is really responsible for Arnie's death, don't we?"

"Riley- I'm not in the mood."

"And how dare you even speculate things that you don't even know about! I know exactly what it's like to have a family tainted by crime!"

"Shut your mouth Riley!" Scott shouted so loudly, that I burst into tears.

"We have done so much for you and you are just going to walk away without even giving me and Nolan a second thought. Don't you have any remorse or regret for what's happening?" I wiped my eyes swiftly.

Scott shut his eyes tightly. "It's not that easy, Riley. I'm doing this whole thing to get my mother brought to justice – just like Amanda did with her father. If it means losing Nolan to the police, then maybe it's worth taking the risk."

I was so angry and upset – frustrated and sick, my fingers entwined themselves around the jacket on his shoulders. "What's going on with you Scott? You aren't being the Scott that I remember. Tell me the truth." I piled the files back into the rucksack before holding Scott's hand.

He held my hand for a while. "You wouldn't understand," Scott mumbled, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Well maybe I might just know if you open up to me…" I replied, slowly letting go of his hand. "But we need to spend some time. Let's just go to my car and take a drive." I pulled on Scott's arm taking him down to my car which was parked outside beside Nolan's.

There was a moment where I was sure that I saw a man standing behind a hedge about fifteen feet away from us who had a camera in his hands. It certainly didn't make me feel safe.

"Come on Riley, I agreed for you to drive me to wherever, but I don't really want to stand about waiting…"

"Yeah, sorry… I got distracted."

I drove to the chalet that Amanda had agreed to stay in whilst she was helping Scott. It was weird to see the chalet after so long, but it would be nice to talk to Amanda about the whole ordeal. I thought that she might be able to bring Scott back from this distracted state.

"Why have you brought me here?" Scott asked, tilting his head to get a better look out the window. "It's a nice place that you've got and all that, but-"

"Just be quiet and come inside."

I led him inside and tried not to draw attention to the photos on the dresser by the door, especially the one of me, Scott and Nolan.

"Amanda?"

"Oh," Amanda replied in a startled manner from the kitchen before appearing in the doorway. "Riley, I didn't know you were coming here."

"Riley!" Carl squealed, running towards me with outstretched arms until he collided into me, hugging me as hard as he could.

"Hiya Carl, you okay little guy?" I asked, patting him on the back. "Amanda, I need you to sit down with Scott and talk with him..."

"Riley, I don't know what you think that will resolve. Scott's on his own path and no two paths are the same."

When she noticed the look on my face, she slowly sat down caressing her stomach. She asked Carl to go play in his room, making his cheerful mood drop.

"Scott, are you- good?"

"Yeah," Scott said, slumping back in his chair.

"I know it might seem like a lot is going on that you cannot control, but you have to keep a strong head. A wedding, a pregnancy, a baby, love, your mother's appeal for a retrial and everything regarding Riley...and Nolan too-"

"Stop it! Stop talking like you know everything. You don't know jack about what's going on in my mind! Sure, the appeal to retrial might happen, but it won't change anything. It won't change what Leonard Myers and his company did to my family. A retrial will not give my mother her life back, will it?"

This whole thing was news to me. "A retrial?"

Scott looked my way with a miserable expression. "It's just an appeal to retrial buy it probably won't even happen..."

He wasn't giving in and opening up to Amanda so I decided to poke the bear.

"The thing is... Scott killed the news reporter who skated his mother and was full of horrible accusations, but because he was Nolan's boyfriend, the police have take Nolan in for questioning which is terrifying as there's a chance that Nolan might actually go to prison and Scott can't even show any remorse for what he's done."

I gasped due to last of pauses and waited for Amanda to reply.

"Did you expect to kill someone?"

What? Amanda? That was not the part I was expecting you to react to! Nolan could be being sent down for a murder that he didn't commit (and I'm not ready for my own revenge vendetta.) Scott may have killed Arnie but there was no way I could snitch. Regardless of whose fault it was, I didn't want either of them imprisoned.

"Amanda!"

"Riley, please. You don't understand what it's like. Realistically, Nolan can cope through a police questioning and if you think he can't, then you don't really know him. Nolan can be tough when he wants to be, but the issue at hand is Scott. He's losing focus on what he is supposed to be doing. Scott, you need to talk to me because I've been there and I understand what you're going through."

Scott just stared out the window, his gaze fixed on the sky. "It's not that I didn't expect to kill someone, but it's tough, like, knowing that someone is dead because of you. I have to continually remind myself that it's all preparation for the journey ahead... I've eliminated Arnie and humiliated Shannon- partly eliminated her. But I'm so close to getting Todd Bell that I'm beginning to get desperate. It's just taking today to realise that. Maybe I do. Maybe I do need help, from both of you, and Nolan."

This was it- Scott was opening up to us. It was all that I wanted and exactly what I expected for Amanda to be able to do.

"I do feel bad about Nolan being taken in for questioning, but the drive to bring the Hydra Corporation is so much stronger. They may have changed offices and altered their logo, but it doesn't eradicate what they did. What they did to my family. They tore my family apart and that's something an apology can't change, okay?"

I squeezed his shoulder. "You may not think I do, but I get it, Scott. My family is messed up too.

"Not half as much as-"

I didn't hear the rest of Scott's sentence due to my phone's annoyingly tedious ringtone going off. Not to mention the front door opened and in bounded the most energetic puppy. It leapt about, excited by all the new people before sprinting back to Jack.

"Nolan, Nolan hold on. Slow down, what's going on?"

His voice went quieter and turned into a sharp hiss. "Riley! Where is the lawyer? You said you would get in touch with them! What are you playing at?"

In my mind, a flurry of inappropriate words bounced about, I had been so wrapped up in Scott that I didn't stop to think about Nolan or do the one thing I promised that I would do.

"So now I'm not able to stall anymore and I'll have to face the fact that a poor excuse of a lawyer is offered to me - when you agreed to get the best!"

"But you don't need a lawyer, you've done nothing wrong!" I stammered, swallowing hard to stop making from crying. A wince escaped my lips at just how much I had let my uncle down. "Nolan... I'm with Amanda, Jack and Scott. They'll know what to do, we will think of something. It will all be okay."

"Riley. When are you going to get it in to your head that Scott doesn't love you. He's in love with Bella- he's marrying her and having a baby with her. Even if he doesn't say it, I think we both know that there is no room in his future for you so-"

The phone call cut off with a dull ringing in my ear.

"Riley?" Amanda asked, approaching me slowly. "What did Nolan say?"

"I let him down, I didn't get him a lawyer. I just lost my focus and got distracted."

"Does he want a lawyer there, Riley?"

"Kind of. The questioning has probably started already so it's too late."

"It will be okay- he can cope. He's just not use to being questioned." Amanda glanced over at Jack pointing at the door. "Oh god... I completely forgot. Riley, can you watch Carl? I was supposed to arrange a sitter but I didn't get around to it. Jack and I missed a scan so now we've got a cancellation."

Jack stepped towards us, resting a hand on my arm. "But there's no pressure if you can't. We can take him with us, it's just easier on everyone if he stays here."

"Yeah, honestly that is fine with me. Not a problem," I squeaked, trying not to make my smile look so forced. "Let me know if everything's okay."?

Once Jack and Amanda were gone, Scott held out his arms to me and all I could do was lean on him, close to him. I could feel one arm around me and the other on the back of my head.

"Don't let what Nolan said upset you. It was an honest mistake and kind of my fault anyway."

"It's not your fault, it's mine..." I whimpered.

"I know this probably isn't the best time to be asking this, but are we cool? It's just- with the wedding and the baby... You and your 'sex God' boyfriend as Bella calls him..."

What do I do? Do I tell him the honest truth?

"Scott, I'm not going to say that everything is fine and perfect. I'm also not going to say that it's awful. What happens will happen. I'm so so happy for you, Bella and the baby, I just wish you had told me about her sooner. When we met. In a way, you're like my best friend. You laugh at my jokes that no one else finds funny, you always think about me, you were even the slightest bit phased when I asked if you would go to Manhattan to see my dying mother and, well- Stella loves you so why can't I-" There was an awkward pause that I had to fill and blurt out the first thing that came to mind, "Besides, I've got a lot of living to do. You may have found your future wife, but I think I'm still looking for my husband to be. At least I think I am. This is all so messed up and complicated..."

"Tell me about it, Riley- falling for two people who are so different for you and then everything else piling up on top of that. I guess I never really had the chance to have a proper conversation with you about it. I hope for all the love and happiness in the world, truly I do. You are going to make one guy the luckiest man alive- I just don't think that it was meant to be Leo and I definitely don't think it is Brody."

"Thanks Scott." I stared out the window at the clouds floating by. "My turn to ask the badly timed question but it's been bugging me. You joked and commented on Leo and Bella sleeping together, why? If you're serious, what happens if the baby is Leo's and not yours?"

Scott sat down on the sofa. "I just know. The way they acted was calm, but obviously hiding something calm. I always had a feeling that Bella could cheat. In a way, I wonder if she slept with Leo to get back at us, for the kiss in the sea... Regardless of whether the baby is mine or not, I still want to be a father to Bella's baby, because she's going to be my wife."

I got tired and upset do I interrupted him with a second question, "How did you know about Brody and Susie Myers?"

Scott's eyes grew wide as his eyebrows rose up. "Wait, what? There really was something there? Oh wow... I'm sorry- going to have to come clean but I had absolutely no idea. I just didn't like him and knew he would hurt you eventually so maybe a part of me wanted to put doubt in your mind. He visited Serena at Club Cats Eye once after your faux interview and she wouldn't tell me what it was about. Then, when you mentioned Brody and Susie's slightly weird behaviour, I questioned it really. Are you telling me I was right?"

"Yes, I mean no. I don't know." And then I spilt the beans, the whole tin. "Me and Nolan went to collect documents from the old Hydra building when we may have nearly ran into Brody and Susie. I know what their voices sound like, so I know it was them..."

Scott burst into anger. "You and Nolan went to the Hydra Corporation's original offices behind my back? Do you guys not trust me or something?!"

"No!" I exclaimed, dropping to my knees in front of him so that we were closer to eye level. "That is not the case at all, and you have to understand that we did it to help you, to protect you. We thought it would be best if, if the police were going to find us there then it wouldn't be so bad, but if they found you there and on even knew that you were the son of two Hydra Corporation workers. One of whom was murdered there and the other in prison-" My voice had grown louder and even Carl had peeped through a gap in the door to see what was going on.

"Why are you fighting with your boyfriend, Riley?"

I stifled an awkward laugh. "Oh Carl, don't be silly. Me and Scott are- are just friends, you know that. And Scott's going to get married and have a baby. Besides, I wouldn't want to marry Scott right now.." I rushed towards Carl and lifted him off the floor, whisking him around in a circle. "Because you're going to marry me instead!"

He squealed in excitement, yelling, "But I've got a girlfriend!"

I immediately let go of Carl- he's like, seven years old?! "Oh I see how it is."

"What's that Riley?" Carl asked, pointing at the black rucksack on the table.

"Oh that's nothing. Just a few boring work files," I replied, only for Scott to dive into the bag and pull out some of the files. "Scott? Are you sure that you want to be doing that?"

"If it helps the operation, then yes..." Scott muttered, scanning the first couple of documents swiftly. "These are just useless documents, Riley."

"No. Some of it is helpful, I'm sure of it." I sat down and rooted about the bag for the brown package in the hope that me and Nolan might be able to redeem ourselves from it

Out of the envelope, a few photographs and a CD fell.

"What do you think this is?" Scott asked sceptically- as if he thought I would have planted it there for his praise.

But I didn't, I had no idea what was on the CD.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I left an old laptop here for Amanda in case she didn't want to move things unnecessarily from the boat moored at the Hamptons' dock."

The laptop was on the desk in the spare room and perched on the edge of the bed; I opened it and found that it was in a hibernation mode. On the screen, I could now see Stella padding along the sofa before stretching out and resting her head on her paws. My heart was racing- why was Amanda watching Nolan, and me?

"Scott..." I called out in a worried tone. "Scott!"

"Riley, what's wrong- is, is that Stella at Nolan's house? Why would Amanda be keeping surveillance on you and Nolan? I thought they were best buddies..."

"This is big, Scott- huge. Maybe it's not live, maybe it's pre-recorded?" I hoped it was a recording, but when I called the home phone Stella started to bark at the ringing phone and then go berserk when the answer machine played my voice. "Scott, it's live."

"It's okay, we can just ask her when she gets back from the appointment, and she'll have an explanation or something." Scott sat down beside me and inserted the disc into the laptop. "Let's see what this is..."

"Wait!" I snapped, turning the laptop screen away from him. "It's only a feeling but will you let me watch this first, just in case?"

"Just in case what?" He asked before rolling his eyes and pulling out a pair of headphones from his jacket pocket. "Here."

"Thank you." I turned towards Scott do that he couldn't physically see the screen and propped one leg up on the bed.

On the screen, it loaded up a video Feds of an office- one that I recognised as Raymond Patterson's office.

Then I heard a voice through the headphones. A deep, but cheerful voice.

"Oh thanks for dinner- it was amazing," said the voice before walking into view. Scott's Dad. "I've got that paperwork that you were after in my office somewhere. Just give me a moment whilst I find it." Raymond pulled out a file from his desk. "Here."

There was a click and as Raymond turned quickly in the direction of the door, he looked terrified.

"What are you doing - let's not do anything brash now. We can work around this," Raymond said calmly, trying not to panic the person attempting to kill him.

My body lurches as a gunshot blared in my ears and Raymond fell back onto the desk and the file hit the floor. As Scott tried to get a closer look, I shuffled away, planting a hand on his chest.

"Don't..."

"Help... Me..." Raymond's voice called out in my ear.

I clicked forward to a later part of the footage where I heard another gasp from Raymond as he called out one last time. A cry of pain.

Then there were footsteps, heavy but strong footsteps. Followed by a short breath.

"No!" I squeaked as a second gunshot completely finished Raymond Patterson off. My hands forced the laptop shut. "Seriously, if you have any trust in me then you have to promise me that you won't watch what is on that disc please?"

"Not until you tell me what's on it?" Scott said taking my hand in his. "If you really trust me, then tell me what is on that disc."

He had me theoretically cornered with my own words.

"It's… It is, Scott, it's footage of your father's murder and death. You are his son, his own flesh and blood. You do not need to see that, because I don't think that I should have been the one to watch it."

"It's alright, come here." He took the laptop and held me whilst I sobbed. "It was brave of you to watch that to the end but I understand."

Scott and I just sat on the bed in silence – and honestly, there were all these scenarios going through my mind of kissing Scott and stuff, but I couldn't – not when I was now his fiancé's maid of honour. It was calm and peaceful, until the energetic puppy wanted to have a look at what was going on. He sniffed my face like an invasive like toddler, thus cheering me up a little.

"We're home!" Jack's voice sounded out through the house. "Hey buddy."

"Amanda, Jack! How did everything go?" I asked, stepping out of the spare room. "That was quick, I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Amanda nodded slowly. "We got the good news that we have been waiting for. All the transplants, procedures and medication were a success. The baby is healthy and growing at an alarmingly good rate. A healthy baby is on the way."

"A boy or a girl?" I asked, completely forgetting about the last hour or so.

"It going to be a secret for everyone, it's what we decided." Amanda then looked at me as if she was asking whether or not I was okay. "Scott?!" she said suddenly, looking past me at Scott. "What are you doing-" She swallowed hard. "What are you doing with the laptop?"

Scott glowered at her. "Don't like us knowing about our spying, do you?"

Amanda was stunned. "Scott, I'm not spying on you."

I had to step in, Scott wasn't the one she was watching. "We've seen the security feed, you've got a camera set up in Nolan's house.

"Riley, that's not me. I hacked into that feed when there was this digital trace from Arnie. By tracing it, I found a conversation between him and a woman named Gina Barrett. He was spying on you, and I was merely trying to protect you."

Everything was suddenly rushing through my mind and I wondered about all the incriminating things that I could have said at any point since Arnie's arrival. In the house, we had all spoken so openly about all things regarding Scott, his revenge, Hydra, Bella and even my family – my true family and identity could have been mentioned.

"What if Gina knows one of us killed Arnie? What is she saw Luke confront Arnie? What if she thinks we killed Arnie? I mean, she might be the only other person to have seen Arnie last, even it was via video footage."

"Riley, don't panic – everything will be fine. We just need a plan that will get you and Nolan in the clear." Scott put his hands on either side of my face. "Breathe, it will be okay."

But he was wrong, and the risk of my secret coming out was running higher than ever before…

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = I love, love, love, LOVE writing about this story and I cannot wait to hear what you think (and sorry for the cliffhanger, major issues, and delay!)**


	16. Chapter 16 - Blackmail

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Two chapters in one update – how lucky are you?

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me; it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 16**

My secret, my identity, it was mine, but it was about to become everyone's.

"This can't be happening. This can't be happening." I kept repeating over and over again.

Scott grabbed my wrists again. "Riley, come on. Know it off already! You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm the one who might get be exposed..."

I shook my head, feeling a tightness in my chest. "I have to go!" I stumbled past Jack and Amanda, right out of the door.

I could faintly hear Scott saying he would go after me, but I was struggling to get far enough away from him. My feet pattered unevenly on the road as I ran across it, kicking up piles of freshly fallen leaves from the forest trees above – that was one of the things I liked about the chalet's location, the seclusion. Straddling over the metal barrier at the roadside, I went in the direction of the lake.

I went right up to the water's edge, looking out over to the other side of the lake, wondering if it would be possible for me to escape and swim across to the other side. My true identity was at risk of being exposed. I could become a homing beacon for my father. The father who wanted me dead. Thinking that the tightness in my chest was being brough on by being stuffy and overheating in my winter coat, I forced it off me, throwing it down on the stones before running my hands through my hair.

"It's all okay, I am going to be fine, Riley. I promise you."

"Scott. It's not you that I am worried about right now. It's me."

He fell quiet for a while, then he squeezed my shoulder gently. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I do!" I whimpered. "You have your secrets, and I have mine. It's not something you would understand, and please don't say that you do because you don't."

"I might not understand. But if you tell me, I could help." Scott lifted my chin. "If you won't tell me, I can't help."

"Some of the stuff I've said in the house is not only incriminating, but puts everyone at risk through association." I buried my head in my hands, even as Scott tried to stop me. Instead, he crushed me into his chest. "There's something I should tell you, but if I tell you I can't take it back and act like I never said anything. Maybe we should talk back at home?"

I dragged Scott back to Nolan's not just because I was not ready to be there on my own. Scott was understanding, he drove my car down to the Hamptons and we waited on the driveway.

"Do you? I mean- is it safe? Knowing that the house is bugged?" I asked, looking over at him with wide eyes. "Whilst Amanda tracked it back to Gina – can we track it to a location by like, reversing the signal or something?"

"We could try it, but typically Nolan would be more gifted at that kind of task."

I reached for the handle on the car door, feeling Scott touch my leg gently. "What?"

"Well I need to ask you one more favour…"

"Out of how many more, Scott?" I sighed, but when I noticed his expression, I laughed it off. "I'm only joking, you know I would do almost anything for you, right?"

"Right – well erm, Serena, she informed me that Todd Bell came back to the club. He's been requesting a private session with Persephone."

"I will think about it, Scott, but right ow there are more important things that we need to sort out," I climbed out of the car and heard a canine yelp. "Stella!" I gasped, but Scott grabbed me around the waist.

"It might be safe – be quiet and act normal, okay? It could be nothing. I know you're worried about Stella, but she's a tough cookie just like you are. She'll be fine…"

I relaxed back into Scott' arms and opened the front door, squeezing the key in my hand as if I were about to use it as a weapon. My feet tapped the shiny wood floor, but there were flecks of dirt scatter unevenly along it. I held my hand out to the side a little – telling Scott to wait.

Because something wasn't right.

Because Stella hadn't come to greet me, or Scott. She could always sense or smell him nearby… Like a seventh sense.

"Stella? Where are you girl?" I called out calmly in that usual talking to animals high pitched voice.

As I turned the corner to check the open plan kitchen, lounge and dining room, I froze and stepped back into the wall.

"You…" I gasped.

"Oh come on darling, come here and say hello to your good old Uncle Adam." He stretched his arms out to me, like he thought I would come running.

I cowered away, hoping I could just shrink back into the wall. "You're not really here, it's not possible."

"You're daddy's worried about his little baby girl running away like that, especially when she such a key part to the court hearing. You left him to pick up the pieces of the shit pile you just abandoned! The Norwegian failed, the Norwegian's apprentice disappeared, so it was up to me to bring you back, and I'm not about to fail. When I do take you back to your father, I'll just threaten to kill you so that Jordan will have to step down. Or I'll let you watch him bleed out. Yeah, that'll be more befitting and then you will be able see your father dethroned."

"Sorry, who are you?" I suddenly realised that Scott could be listening and he couldn't know the truth this way.

"It's far too far past the time for you to ask that now, Michelle Campbell, even when you know I'm your uncle Adam Campbell."

"My name is not Michelle," I replied forcefully, but so awkwardly that no one would have believed me, though I was hoping that Scott would believe me. Plus the camera in the corner was not helping.

"Oh I get it…" He lurched forwards in a split second, grabbing me.

I screamed as his thick arm found its way up to my throat in a sort of choke hold. There was a moment where I could have sworn that Scott would be found.

"Hmm… Where's your little friend, Michelle?" he whispered in my ear before pulling out a shiny silver gun with black side. He pointed it at my closed bedroom door and then back at the kitchen, still holding my neck. He pulled me away to the sofas again and threw me to the floor. "Do not move. If you dare to move, I will surely put a bullet in your brain before you even lay your eyes on your father again." The muzzle of the gun was pressed fast between my eyebrows. "Right… here…" He paused. "But I'm going to trust you this time."

My eyes instinctively darted over to the corner of the room where I knew Gina, or maybe Arnie, had somehow planted the surveillance bug.

Uncle Adam noticed this look too. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh come on Adam, if I'm really Michelle Campbell – do you seriously think that I'd let you walk straight in like this? She sounds tough and would no doubt put up a fight, wouldn't she?"

"Taking a leaf out of Daddy Jordan's page are we? You've indulged yourself in putting cameras up in your own home watching his allegedly beloved wife and children as they go about their daily life. You're a joke. A joke because you have spent all this time running from your destiny to become Jordan Campbell's protégé, when you actually already have his business acumen and instincts."

"I am nothing like my father – I know the difference between right and wrong, yet he does not…" I got up off the floor and made my way to the door, ignoring my Uncle's attempt to get me to stop.

It was only when my hand was on the glass of the front door that he got the guts to place the gun hard into my temple, but I could feel the unsettling nerves and uncertainty in my uncle. He may have killed, but he wasn't going to add his own niece to that list.

"Don't even think about it." The gun was gently pointed at my forehead as I turned to look at him.

"Do it… But I want you to watch me to die," I taunted, feeling my heart race.

All traces of my ballsy approach disappeared when I heard a click. At that exact point, everything went in slow motion – but it also happened so quickly, creating a contradiction that even my brain was struggling to contend with it.

Two instantaneously gunshots were heard, and just like that, my uncle lay dead on the floor with blood sprayed up and down the hall in both directions. His blood was spattered on my face, clothes, and even in my mouth.

"Riley!" I heard Nolan gasp, he had been released… and he was running up the steps towards me.

He rushed towards me as I slowly collapsed in shock. "I heard two gunshots... what ha-?" When he saw the body of Adam Campbell on the floor, he choked on his own words. "Riley. Riley, snap out of it!" Nolan picked me up off the floor, beads of blood dotting his shirt.

Looking away and feeling a sick feeling in my stomach, I looked at my bedroom door when I stopped thinking about anything else... there was a bullet hole in it - like the bullet had gone through the door, from inside my room.

"Scott?" I called out.

"R-Ril-Riley..." Scott's voice replied behind me, from the direction of the kitchen and lounge. "Stella's okay too," he added, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath.

As I turned to look at him, I was sure I saw him put a gun in his jacket pocket.

"There's nothing to worry about, not anymore."

"Will you stop saying there's nothing to worry about, because in this situation, it's the complete and total opposite of how things are!" I snapped before barging into my bedroom. "Brody! You better have one seriously good explanation for this..." My fists were clenched and shaking- I was sure I might actually punch him! I tried suppressing the memories that Brody and I shared, but they all rose to the surface, battling for my attention.

But it was Nolan who answered my question. "I asked him to. When I made my phone call, I called Brody to talk and then he connected my call to yours."

Brody nodded. "When I got here, Adam Campbell wasn't far behind and I was forced to hide in your room- behind the mirrors. The moment I was sure he was holding a gun to your head, I took the shot. I had to make a shot quicker, so I guessed."

My heart lurched. "You could have killed me!"

"And Scott could have too, Michelle!" Brody shouted back louder.

I froze, Nolan stiffened and squeezed my shoulder.

Scott was the only one left in the dark and knocking his head against the doorframe. "Why does. Everyone. Keep calling you. Michelle?" He stopped and his face twisted slowly as he thought about it. "No."

"Scott," Nolan said in a warning tone as he stood protectively in front of me. "Let me explain."

Scott's brow lowered and his face contorted to a dark grimace. "You knew... you, you, you knew this whole time, didn't you? And you didn't tell me." His hand jerked from his pocket and pulled out the gun. "Tell me I'm wrong!" He screamed as he held his head in his hands.

I was scared, frightened of what he might do with a gun in his hand and anger in his body. I stepped back, feeling Brody standing only a few inches away.

Now I was the one who was left in the dark. I was about to realise that my link in Scott's revenge went even deeper than I could have imagined.

"She's part- she's a part of this too!" Scott pointed the gun at me, but he couldn't hold it steady. "All... all this time, she was never called Riley Osborne. She was Michelle Devon Campbell, she was the daughter of the man who played a part in Hydra's takedown of my parents."

"What are you talking about, Scott?" I asked, wondering how my father and his extremist group hidden within his hotel chain were connected. Behind my back, I found my hand in Brody's and I squeezed it tight.

"Your father- he, he is Jordan Campbell, owner of the Blue Lagoon Hotels. A business partner and sponsor of Hydra Corporations. A supplier of guns and drugs- you name it and your father had given it to Hydra. They'd have secret meetings until the penthouse suites of the hotels. There was a USB stick labelled Devon - it had a series of encrypted and corrupted files that fried three of my laptops in an attempt to crack it. Jordan Campbell had a daughter and she was right under my nose this whole time!" Throughout his explanation, the gun had lowered, but the angered flared in him. "You are here to spy on me! That's not going to happen- you won't bring me down so easily, Michelle Campbell!"

Brody piped up calmly, "Come on Scott- we are all friends here. Just out the gun away, she's scared and that's your fault. I've worked at those hotels for years and been Riley's friend longer- she never played any part int this whole thing. She didn't even know that there was this weak connection in play. Scott, you know Riley would never do anything to endanger you or harm anyone..."

"Please Scott," I whispered, letting go of Brody and squeezing past Nolan. "It's okay Nolan, I trust him. Come on Scott, please put the gun down. I had no idea of the link my family had with yours and the Myers. Honestly. Please, out the gun down. I trust you. You wouldn't hurt me, because you're better than that..."

"You, you, you lied-"

I shook my head quickly, placing my hands on either side of his face. "Listen to me, I never ever lied to you about this. I guess I never told you the truth about my name, but I tried to Scott. The timing was never right."

He stepped closer making me flinch, his arms wrapped themselves around me as he collapsed, sobbing into my shoulder.

We dropped down to the floor, where Nolan was able to prise the gun away that was digging into my back. Although no one said anything to him, Brody willingly dragged my uncle's dead body away in a body bag - it wasn't the time to ask Nolan why he had one handy so I didn't ask.

"I need... your help, Riley... something's really wrong. I'm not well..." Scott whimpered, sniffing and trying to stop himself from crying.

"It's okay, Scott- that's exactly why I'm here." My hands gently caressed his face again. "Tell me how I can help..."

Stella came weakly into view and nuzzled Scott's leg, licking his hand.

"You need to take me to the Lockton Manor - the psychiatric ward. It's the only place I have been and will be safe at. They can look after me and, and-"

"It's okay, that's exactly what we'll do Scott," I reassured him and along with Nolan's help, we lifted Scott to his feet. "Bring your car around Nolan..." I led Scott down the steps to the car. "Do you want me to tell Bella?"

"No. Don't tell her. Please don't tell her." His hand rifled about in his pocket and he pulled out a small orange pill pot and closed my fingers around it tightly. "You'll want to keep these close."

I didn't question it because of Scott's seemingly fragile state, but clearly something was wrong.

In the car, I stayed in the back with Scott who rested his head on the window, staring lifelessly out it as trees swam past.

"What happened with the police?" I asked Nolan.

"Is that really what you want to talk about right now?"

"Well it will take my mind off of my family who are trying to kill me so yes, I do want to know."

"Of course, they appointed me with a temporary lawyer who I told nothing about Arnie's true death - apart from that we had planned a holiday. Maybe that someone got on the plane that we had tickets for... Possibly added in some details about Luke to throw the scent-"

"Nolan!" I snapped, seeing how wrong it was of him to do that.

"It's alright- they didn't have any evidence, so I walked. They'll probably want to interview me again, and possibly you too."

My heart began to race and my head was throbbing. All of these different issues in my life had just landed all at once and it hit me hard and fast.

Now, the police investigation into Arnie's death had been added to the list.

A list that had my family trying to kill me on. Along with Scott's worrying instability, Club Cat's Eye, Todd Bell, Scott's sister Una, Brody diving in and out of my life - sometimes with Susie Myers in tow..., Leo continually trying to talk to me, being Bella's maid of honour, Scott and Bella's wedding, their baby and my true feelings for Scott.

Everything was throwing itself at me at once so that I had no time to get accustomed to it or even compose myself very much.

I burst into tears. I can't help it.

"Woah, Riley, you have no reason to cry. An interrogation will be easy for you. You just need to put on a show, convince them that you know nothing- just like you have been able to convince everyone who you are... or not..." Nolan comforted me as we turned into a long private driveway.

At the end of the driveway was a large Manor House - just like the massive ones that you see in the countryside in England with large windows, stone columns and a sprinkling of ivy.

"What do you want us to do, Scott?" I asked him softly, patting his shoulder.

"Sign me in and take me to see Doctor K. Bartlett. She knows me, and my history...

I walked around the car and held Scott's hand as we walked towards the main door. I nodded to Nolan and pushed open the door.

"Scott, I really didn't know about the connection between Hydra and Blue Lagoon."

"So is that your way of admiring that Riley Osborne doesn't exist? That that- that I've fallen hard for Michelle Campbell..."

"No Scott, we agreed to try and make this easier for us both. You can't come out with things like that. You're getting married and starting a family- I still want to live a little more. But who I am shouldn't change how we feel. I still care very deeply for you and I want you to be okay."

He squeezed my hand excruciatingly tightly, but I refrained from wincing and listened to him. "Bella will want to know where I am- but you cannot and don't tell her where I am. Promise me that... that you'll stay with her, in case the baby comes..."

"Scott- she's not even six months pregnant. The baby's not going to come."

We walked into the building where it had such a grand antique interior.

"Please… For me…"

"Okay, I'll try and stay there for a couple of nights. If she lets me." I walked up to the counter where the receptionist took one look at Scott. There was a moment where I was sure that her eye grew wide and her eyebrows rose in shock.

The receptionist picked up the phone, muttering, "el hijo es as"- she said another sentence in Spanish but I didn't hear it. In a forced and slightly awkward way, she pointed up the stairs where I assumed Doctor Bartlett would be.

As I walked up the large staircase, I gazed up at the detailed portraits that hung above us... so detailed and monochrome...

Scott ended up pulling me up the stairs towards the door where a gold plaque read, "Dr K. Bartlett" of which he knocked on hesitantly.

The door opened and out looked a young and skinny woman with a heavy face of makeup, paired with ice blue eyes and brown hair.

"Scott Peters! You look terrible, oh god!" She then threw me a bitchy look before elbowing me aside. "Are you here to be checked in with us again?"

"Yes."

Doctor Bartlett turned to face me. "Thanks honey, but you can go now. Don't worry about Scott, he is in safe hands now, no thanks to you! Thank you, bye... bye-bye." She shut the door in such an abrupt manner that I was incredibly choice to giving her a piece of my mind, but I couldn't... because she was going to look after Scott.

I walked away, unable to peel my eyes off that door or check over my shoulder for Scott.

Whilst Nolan and myself lost one recurring resident at our house, there was someone who came to the door later that evening that I never expected would want to see me.

"Nolan, I don't trust her..." I mumbled to him as he sat down on the sofa beside Stella.

He had given up keeping her off the furniture, ruffling her soft coat. "Who's the newest addition to the list of people you don't trust now?"

"Doctor Bartlett."

"Are you sure you're not just angry and jealous that Scott wanted her help and not yours?" Nolan watched me like a hawk.

"No!" I snapped quickly. "Because... because if she knew Scott already, she would know his history and how fragile he is, so why would she give him medication that would make his state worse?" I waited for Nolan to add to the conversation, so when he didn't, I continued. "Think of it this way. Scott knew the place, he knew Doctor Bartlett well, so he must have been there in the past. When I was last at Scott's, I noticed an empty pill pot in the bin. He had been taking that medication for whatever ailment for a long time. But something has dramatically changed with his medication." I pulled out the pill bottle from my coat pocket and slammed it down on the coffee table. "This is not what I saw in the bin. Maybe you can have the Rossco labs test them?"

"Riley, I am not having my company test them when they haven't been tampered with to begin with."

"Come on Nolan... Scott could be in serious danger-"

The doorbell rang and Nolan stopped me going and went to get the door himself.

"Hello?"

"Is Riley- Home?" a low but stern voice asked with a soft midwestern accent.

"I think I'm going to need an introduction?" Nolan remained calm and not at all phased from the sound of his voice.

"It's Mr Myers, Leonard Myers."

"Sorry, but I don't think that it would be a good idea for you to-"

I interrupted quickly. "It's okay, Nolan, I'll take it from here." I stood in the doorway facing the man who sent Mrs Patterson to prison and all I could think about was that he endangered Scott. "Why do you need to see me, Mr Myers?"

"We need to talk, now..."

My heart rattled uncontrollably in my chest, the blood was rushing to the deepest corners of my body and back to my heart in record speed.

"Please, come inside." I wondered if there was a chance that he knew who I was. I choose to go out to the pool and look out to the horizon.

"You don't know me, but I know exactly who you are."

Was I Michelle, or Leo's girlfriend?

He smiled at me. "I can see why my boy obsesses over your return to the hospital- such a pretty face." Leonard's hand reached out and brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes.

I flinched, and turned away in the hope that he didn't notice.

"Whilst Leo has his moments- there is definitely something about you that that boy cannot forget. And I think that I could do with a few errands being run for my company, Hydra. We could use a young, pretty girl with her head screwed on."

"You came here to ask your son's ex-girlfriend for assistance with errands?" I folded my arms.

Leonard took advantage of Nolan's blocked view and grabbed my arm. "You think you have the higher ground in this? Because you will do one favour for me, otherwise I will bring both your worlds crashing down around you… Both of them. Campbell and Osborne."

He knew. He know exactly who I was…

"What do you want from me?" I asked, slowly admitting defeat, but not completely.

"I know this will no doubt come as a surprise to you, but you clearly have become a key figure in my son's life. You are going to reconcile with him so that he can propose."

 _What?_ Why would Leonard Myers want me to marry his son? Why would _I_ marry Leo? It didn't make much sense as a request.

"But if he proposes, you do realise that I would just say no…" I murmured.

"Well… Not if you want the ones you love to stay safe. Nolan, Brody, Bella, Louise – even Mr Peters… I can torture them, kill them and I will make your life far worse than you could ever imagine if you say no. I can bring the Blue Lagoon to you. Right to this house. You know, Daddy's very upset that out of all his children, it was his only little girl who betrayed him and ran away." He lent in closer, whispering in my ear, "So. Do we have a deal?"

I shook my head in confusion. "That's not a deal that is beneficial to me."

Leonard Myers laughed softly. "My, my, my. You don't see it. You don't actually have a choice. I have the high ground." Leonard grabbed my right hand and shook it. "Glad we could come to some arrangement Miss Osborne – my future daughter-in-law shall I say?"

A shiver crawled its way along my back as Mr Myers left. The walls were closing in on me and there was no way that I could get out of it.

"Riley?" Nolan asked, gently grazing my shoulder with his hand. "What did he want?"

I had to tell him. "He, he wants me to marry Leo…" I mumbled slowly. "I have to do it though. I have to say yes when Leo proposes."

"No, no you don't Riley, there's always a choice."

I jerked away from him, walking over to the stone wall that lined the cliff. I thought about jumping off it at that moment, but I didn't want to die a painful death – or die, period. "Uncle Nolan, I have to. Leonard Myers is a force that I cannot afford to mess with. He has a partnership with Blue Lagoon and my dad. He knows and knew exactly who I was the moment he laid eyes on me. He even threatened a whole list of things that would happen if I said no. I cannot afford to let them happen, especially not if I was the cause. He said he would hurt, torture and kill the ones I love, including you, Brody, Scott – and even Louise and Bella. Nolan, if he knows how much they mean to me, he's dangerous. There's no way I can let my father come looking for me, not when I know what I know. No one can know who I really am, and if I say no, then I put everything in jeopardy. I have to say yes – at least until I find a way out of it – or when Hydra is brought to its knees."

Nolan didn't say anything, but he just hugged me. Squeezing me tight. "Your mum would be so proud of how well you're handling this. I can't begin to imagine what's going through your mind. Whilst I don't know if it's the right choice, I will have to respect your choice."

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Two chapters in one sitting – Merry Christmas everyone!** **Don't forget to review!**


	17. Chapter 17 - Acceptance

Disclaimer: I don't own the Revenge plot, but the new characters at the moment belongs to me

A/N: Two chapters in one update – how lucky are you?

 **Note for all chapters** : I watched the finale multiple times, pausing it to get some form of a transcript of the article that Nolan was shown in the last few minutes, trust me; it wasn't easy so perhaps a cheeky little review for the effort I put in there?

 **Chapter 17**

Sat at a table outside on the veranda at the Myer's house, I couldn't help but feel reminded of Leonard Myer's instructions-or more threat. It was a celebratory dinner party that I had no knowledge of, only an hour or so earlier. There were casserole dishes being cleared away by the staff of the house. I had barely touched my portion. The staff could barely look me in the eye as I tried to make eye contact with them to say thank you.

"Riley, it's lovely to see you and Leo together…" Susie started meekly. "Ever since his accident, he was never the same. You of all people must understand what it's like to be heartbroken, so it only warms my heart to see you two working things out."

Deep down, I felt like she was referring to Brody, but I refused to react.

I didn't know what to say to her, but with her husband frowning at me, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. "Yeah, guess it- I guess, I guess it was just… meant to be," I stammered, slowly looking to Leo. "Right Leo?"

Leo put his arm around me and pulled me closer. "Right. You got it." He moved closer to kiss me, but I turned my head, making him almost headbutt me on my cheek. "There's something I've got for you, Riley…" Leo stood up abruptly – his chair scrapping along the patio.

This was it – this was the proposal that would seal the safety of my loved ones. My heart was in my mouth at the thought of sealing my own fate. A fate that was to become a part of the Myers family. The family that brought down Scott's own.

"Leo…" I whispered wide eyed.

"Riley, it's alright – I'm not going to propose, because you're not in love with you. Your heart belongs to someone else. I can only hope that you'll give me another chance to actually fall in love with me. In the right way, at the right place. I'm taking you to New York…"

I wrinkled my nose. "New York – why do you want to go there?"

"Because you love it there – you said you have in the past, and I listened…" He reached inside his blazer and pulled out some tickets and reservation documents. "We'll spend two nights in the Blue Lagoon Hotel, looking on Central Park. Riley, we leave tonight, and we'll do whatever you want to do. Whatever you say, we'll do. Even if you want to check every inch and corner of Macy's, Bloomingdale's or the Apple Store, I'll follow you."

My heart missed a beat and tried to catch up. "Leo- I don't know what to say…"

Leonard Myers clearly knew what to say. "Why don't you take Riley home so she can pack a bag, Leo? You'll want to miss the traffic coming out of the city centre. I'll have our driver ready to take you from here." He paused, waiting for my acknowledgement, but he clapped his hands and I flinched. "Go!"

Holding the crook of Leo's elbow, I couldn't help but let him drag me away. My throat was beginning to close up. "Leo… I can't breathe…" I pulled back, but he grabbed my hand. "No Leo."

He pulled me around the side of the complex towards the garages, out of sight. "What is with you?" Leo asked, squaring up to me. "You've been weird ever since- well ever since I came back home from the hospital. Has something happened?"

I neither nodded nor shook my head – there was nothing I could say that would make this whole situation easier. Or safer. "No, nothing has happened- I'm just scared…" I stepped down the steps towards him. "Of what might happen between us."

Leo squeezed my hand and smiled softly. "But, well… Can you let me help you? I know my parents can be scary when you first meet them, they're just successful… Don't let them get to you. Every girlfriend has crumbled, but I don't want you to." He moved towards me – his lips parting slightly but I kept my jaw clamped shut.

It was an awkward kiss – like he was about to swallow me up.

"Let me try and convince you that I've changed, and that you can fall in love with me again, right?" Leo said after pulling away. "We can go back to how things used to be…"

I shook my head slightly, hoping that he didn't notice. "That will take longer than you hope, because I'm still struggling after you admit to sleeping with someone else, and then I also feel responsible for what happened to you in the car crash… It's a lot to get over, you have to understand that."

We stood by his car and he randomly threw me the car keys – I fumbled and caught them with wide eyes staring back at him. He never let me drive his car. Without questioning it, I instinctively got in and started driving, pulling away from the Myers' house. Leo and I remained quiet for the most part. The highway was quiet as I made my way towards Nolan's.

I occasionally glanced up at the rear view mirror, where I was sure that I could see a large black van trailing behind us – speeding up and slowing down just as I did. It was unusual, and it just made me feel slightly uneasy, but I chose not to say anything to Leo. Then it started to pull up alongside us.

"What is that guy's problem?" I mumbled, glancing left at the vehicle with blacked out windows.

Out of nowhere, it suddenly swung towards us- I swung the wheel and ended up running over some traffic cones that were blocking an exit junction.

"What the hell was that?" Leo shouted, checking over his shoulder to see what went wrong. "This state has some horrible drivers…" He looked around at the wooded areas that hugged either side of the road. "And we can't even turn around."

"Yeah, and this road was closed too. Which only worries me more." I couldn't even stop my voice shaking. "Leo."

"It's okay. I'm here." His hand patted my leg, and my hand closest to him grabbed his.

The moon dimly broke through the trees and the headlights feebly tried to lead the way through a forest. The one place I would not want to be driving through late at night, along a road that was originally closed. My heart was fluctuating entirely, unable to decide whether it was a calming or stressful situation. I had to keep squinting to see if there was something on the road.

Calming because no one was there to attack us – stressful because no one would be there to help if there was an attack.

"Stop!" Leo yelled.

My foot shot out and slammed the breaks when I saw what he was indicating. There was a figure standing in the middle of the road. It looked like a man… He was wearing dark jeans, a tatty leather jacket that looked like it had been run over multiple times and, and a rubber pigs mask. Leo and I were panting heavily and the engine was grumbling uncontrollably.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, fumbling to lock the car door.

"He's not moving."

I looked back at the pig masked man. Right now he wasn't moving, but he had moved since I last glanced at him – his hick arms were now folded across his chest. "I don't care, I'm getting us out of here." I shifted the car into reverse, and when I turned my body to look through the back windscreen, I physically jumped as there was another man donning a similar outfit. "Oh I can't take this all the time." Looks like reversing was out of the question.

There was no way I was just going to wait around for one of them to do something. All reason and normal brain functions went out the window and I stepped out of the car, feeling my patent pumps squelch into a small, muddy puddle.

"Get down on the ground!" they both shouted.

"Come on, you're going to have to tell me what you want," I growled, wondering what the hell was going on and refusing to back down.

"Get down on the ground!" one of them barked. "Get out of the car!"

Leo was brutally dragged out of the car, but he put up a fight and struggled against one of the men. The fight going on across the car was enough to make to lower myself to the ground, a small puddle of mud just inches from my hand. These guys wanted something and it was no coincidence that they forced us to come this way.

There was a loud thump, quickly followed by a low grunt. As I looked under the car, I could see Leo lying on his back with his face in my direction. His eyes looked heavy and he raised his hand out to me as if we were within touching distance. Blood dripped from his brow

One of the men came up behind me and grabbed me by the arms, lifting me up off the floor. His hand cupped my chin and squeezed it hard. He wore a fingerless leather glove on his hand and the material rubbed at my face with a great amount of friction.

He started to whisper something in my ear.

"If you want to get out of this alive, then you're going to have to listen very carefully. You're going to have to make a deal with the Gorgon. Sure, you've already got deals going on with Mr Myers, but you're going to have to make another deal. With my boss. We know Mr Myers wants you to marry baby boy Myers, whilst being associated with Blue Lagoon hotels… Daddy's little girl, but there's another big player about to make a claim on you- there's Hydra, Blue Lagoon and also Gorgon… You thought there was just two, but you were wrong. Gorgon is the third in this trinity."

"Okay, name your conditions," I murmured, trying to say the sentence without sounding like an idiot. "Just let me and Leo go."

"Don't worry, we'll let you go, but you're going to owe the Gorgon in the future. And if you say anything about our little meeting here, then we'll make baby Myers suffer greatly – more than his car crash did. Plus, we're going to take the car, it is a collectable after all and the boss has taken a shine to it."

"Who? Who is the boss?" I asked, looking into my peripherals in the hope of being able to see them.

"Oh, now that would be telling. Gorgon will call you when we require your assistance- at a moment's notice…"

"What's in it for me?"

"We're going to let you live…"

"On one condition, then I'll do it. Promise me, or I'll just name you to the cops." I smirked.

"What?"

I pointed into the car. "The phone in the car has been recording, and it has been set to send every minute of footage to a secure location- multiple secure locations. You can be identified in seconds, so I suggest you let me take the car and Leo. One wrong more and I get that forwarded to the cops."

Bluffing was quickly becoming a strength of mine.

"You take this," he snapped, slapping a modern looking phone onto my hand. "Gorgon will be in touch with you. Tell anyone of this encounter and it'll be the last thing you and baby boy Myers do. Cross us, and you'll regret it."

"This doesn't make any sense – why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because Gorgon is the puppet master and Mister Patterson knows the severity of crossing us – so you should be sensible and not be as stupid as he was. He'll be able to tell you all about the mistake he made, and the consequences of the mistake. Now take your fuckboy and go home…"

Before I could take another step, the man slammed my head down onto the side of the car. I was out cold.

I woke up in my own bed the next day… The right side of my forehead was aching like crazy. I slowly sat up, blinking rapidly from the bright sun shining in through the wall window. That was what Brody insisted on calling it.

"Nolan?" I called out.

Not that it was Nolan, but I did hear a small beastie throwing herself at the door and scrapping at the wood with her paws. Stella barked as if she was telling me she was coming, but Nolan was being slow. Instead of waiting, I shuffled off the bed and noticed a deep purple bruise around my wrist. In an instance, I was reminded of what had happened the night before and dropped to the floor, tucking myself away between the corner of the room and my bedside table.

"Don't let Stella in here, Nolan – just you…" I told him when I saw the door handle move a little.

Moments later, he stepped into the room. When he saw me on the floor, he looked like he didn't really know what to say. He couldn't ask if I was okay, because it was clear that I wasn't.

"Do you want to tell me what happened to you, Riley?" my uncle asked, sitting down with his back resting on the bed.

I held my head in my hands and tucked my knees into my chest. "I don't know – one minute I was driving me and Leo here, and the next we were forced off the highway into a closed off junction… Is Leo okay?" My gaze darted between Nolan's eyes as I tried to read him and determine the answer.

"Leo's fine – he's in the spare room. Don't worry though, I haven't said anything that you wouldn't want me to say."

"So you told him you like we're back together?" I stifled a laugh and winced at the pain in my chest. "It's okay, I know you wouldn't say that… But how did you find us?" I was trying so hard not to mention Gorgon to him. "How!" I shouted harshly.

Nolan rubbed his hands together. "For your own safety, and because Scott suggested it when you first started helping his cause, we had a tracker embedded into your phone… So when you texted saying you were just leaving and four hours later you weren't home. I tracked it…"

Whilst at this point I could have lashed out at him, instead, I threw my arms around him, knocking the bedside table slightly. Crying into his shoulder and ignoring the pain in my chest and forehead.

"I'm so scared, Nolan. I just want to feel safe- like how I did when I had you, Brody and Scott by my side. The three of you. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Trust me Riley- we can take care of ourselves. And so can you… You know, I'm not sure if I was right to take you in, but I always knew that you could take care of yourself."

I turned and sat down beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Stop it…"

"No, really. Whether or not you get married to Leo because of Myers' orders, I will always protect you and be by your side. Always. You have a good heart, Riley," Nolan added, putting his arm around me. "Regardless of everything that was said to you about the dangers of helping Scott out, you put yourself in danger's way-"

"Because, because I love him…"

We both fell silent, until I realised what I had said and bolted up. I nearly threw myself into the wall.

"Riley, do you really feel-"

"I – uh… You didn't hear me say anything… I did not say that. Do not repeat it." I suddenly thought about Leo and whether he had heard what I had said. The spare room was next to mine after all. "Leo?" I knocked on the door, ushering Stella aside as she frantically leapt up at me. I slowly opened the door and peered into the spare room.

He was lying sprawled out on the bed, so I slowly closed the door behind me and just watched him. Maybe I did for so long because I wanted to know for sure that he was really asleep. My insides turned at the thought of him hearing me say that I had feelings for Scott. Especially when his father was blackmailing me to marry Leo. Or else.

"Leo… Leo?" I whispered, gently shaking his shoulder and perching on the edge of the bed.

He blinked drowsily- which made me relieved that he might have been asleep and not been listening to mine and Nolan's conversation. "Riley? Oh- what the hell happened?"

"I don't know, Leo. I'm just glad that we're both okay, and I'm sorry for not being in more control."

Leo's hand squeezed mine tightly. "It's fine, you did what you could and what happened. We're supposed to be in New York…" He rubbed his eye, before trying to sit up. "I've been meaning to ask you something, away from my family."

This was it – he was about to ask me one of two things. He was either going to confront me without his father present… Or he was going to ask me to marry him.

I brushed the hair back behind my ear and left my hand there. "Of course, what- what do, what do you want to-"

"Riley, I know that you are one for these big gestures and…"

 _I hate big gestures._

"But I think that since I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special…"

 _Yeah Leo, but you somehow knew that Stella belonged to me. All too planned and convenient if you ask me._

"And you know something, I don't know why you gave me a second chance because- I feel like I broke your heart…"

 _Telling me that you slept with someone else is certainly one way of hurting me – but I'm not sure I'd say my heart was broken. More than just my heart._

"I was wrong for telling you what I did in the way that I did. It was the worst way to go about it. To be honest, when you first admitted that you would give me another chance, I was happy. Not for long, though… You don't love me – I don't think you ever have. Riley, you're too good for me and I can't tie you down to me because you feel back about the accident that happened after I told you about- well you know." Leo cupped my face slowly. "Riley, I can't do this to you. You don't belong with me. You need someone who is better than me." He growled and pushed himself up, slowly sitting up.

My mind rushed – Leonard Myers wanted me to marry Leo, and though it seemed like a get out of jail free card, I knew his father wasn't going to see it that way. So how did I react? I pushed him back to lie down.

"Leo, you were hit pretty bad, I need you to rest a while. I'm just going make you a drink – just sit tight, okay?" I managed a soft smile to ease the worried look on his face. "It'll be okay."

I closed the door behind me and sped towards the kitchen, feeling my chest tightened and heart race. Panic coursing through my veins. My hands trembled as I tried to get a glass out of the cupboard.

Nolan put his hands around mine, holding onto the glass. "Riley, talk to me. Are you okay?"

Nervously, I pulled my hands away. "No, I'm not okay."

He instantly knew something was wrong – I always said I was fine, even when I clearly wasn't.

"Do we need to leave the Hamptons? Because if you think we have to, I will. We can stay nearby to keep an eye on Scott-"

"No Nolan…" My sentence trailed off as I looked at the mantelpiece above the fireplace where Gina's spy cam would be. I glanced back at Nolan, who gave me the ok to discuss whatever. I continued in a low whisper, pulling Nolan outside towards the pool. "Nolan, Leo- I think he's trying to break up with me."

"Break up with you?" He slowly stroked his chin and jaw, rubbing it in thought. "Riley, is that not a good thing? Because from where I'm standing, that would free you from whatever contractual agreement that you seem to have with Leonard Myers. Right?" He held his hand up as if he expected a swift response.

"I don't know!" I snapped. "This is too much. I can't deal with this right now. I feel like my head is going to explode!" I flinched, cupping my hands over my mouth. "Sorry, I'm so sorry."

In a swift movement, Nolan pulled me close and squeezed me tight. The tears started flowing and I was sobbing uncontrollably. I was being serious at this point, because so much was going on. Not only was I trying to deal with my own family issues, I had to deal with everything going on in Hydra – and now Blue Lagoon and Gorgon too. There was no escape and I couldn't even hold onto a relationship. Leo was good for me, but not good enough. Then there was Scott. Every time I tried to visit him at Lockton Manor, his doctor turned me away with some feeble excuse.

"Come on Riley, you're stronger than this – pull yourself together, kid…"

I had a slight thought, and strode back into the house, opening up the drawer where I had left Scott's little orange pill pot. Flicking the lid open, I emptied one of the last few pills onto my hand and went to knock it back into my mouth.

"No!" Nolan snapped. "Whatever you do, do not take that. Scott took them to calm his systems and some other stuff, but this last batch… Riley, you were right to get me to test it- the pills in this pot were spiked with a chemical that would have considerably amplified Scott's systems."

He was obviously dumbing it down for me.

"Nolan, we have to get Leo a cab home and then see Scott – he needs to know what's been going on…"

Both Nolan and I were agreed on this scenario, so I went to check on Leo. The bed had been made up again in a rushed manner and a note was scribbled out in Leo's handwriting – his handwriting always looked so neat and curly, it was one of the things I really liked about him. Which shows how good a person he was to me…

 _Riley, Sorry to run out on you – I couldn't stay and see you hurting more than I already have hurt you. You know exactly what I mean, it's like I said to you. I want you to be happy, and you aren't going to be happy with me as your boyfriend. That's why I'm leaving you. This is the end for Leo and Riley. Riley, it's over. I know this'll sound crazy, but I somehow think my father has something to do with us getting back together. It's okay, I won't confront him, but I just know it. He's been meddling in my life far too long and I can't let him control my life – or yours. Leo._

My brain didn't know whether to be happy or sad about this, purely because I had no idea what Leonard Myers' reaction would be.

But as Leo was dealing with it- Scott was the more oppressing matter that needed dealing with. I was grateful for Nolan who was just as eager to get to Scott as I was. It must have been because Scott was the new Amanda, and it gave Nolan a true purpose. He may have RossCo., but that was a job that he still had to keep a distance from. The drive over to Lockton Manor was long and nerve racking, I couldn't stop fidgeting. We pulled up in the only available car park space.

Wondering about how awful I must have looked, I checked the wind mirror and my feelings dropped at the sight of me. My eyes looked tired and puffy, with red rings around them. The gentle stream of snot at my cupids bow was easily removed with a swipe of the hoodie I was wearing. My hand cupped my face as I worried about the next move.

"What if they don't let us in?" I asked, turning towards Nolan.

"Riley- we're going in to see him. They'll let us in, we're not breaking him out."

I shook my head. "No, they don't let me see him when I visit. The receptionist lets me wait, but then Scott's doctor, psychiatrist, therapist comes along and tells me that Scott doesn't want to see me." I sniffed sharply. "I know she's lying – it's Scott we're talking about. He wouldn't send me away… I'm here to help him."

"Calm down Riley. It's fine." Nolan handed me a card. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to contact this person within the next couple of days. You aren't coping as well as I'd like you to, but I warned you not to get involved with Scott's case to bring justice to his parents." He stopped, realising that he was being harsher than he expected. "Let's go and see Scott."

As we walked up the stairs, Nolan put his arm around me slowly. To reassure me, and probably stop me doing something stupid.

Inside the manor, I refrained from telling the receptionist that I was here to see Scott and walked straight up the first square of the stairs. My feet pounded the ornate carpet on the stairs as my pace quickened. I had to see Scott and I wasn't leaving until I had seen him. He had to know that someone was tampering with his medication to balance the imbalances in his mind. In my mind, I counted the doors that I passed until I reached the door where Scott was being kept in. Behind me, I could hear the raucous shouts of staff as I made my way to Scott.

Without even thinking, I wrenched the door handle down and went into his room. Inside was like an apartment… The main living area was empty – only a coffee table and two armchairs furnished it. It looked so bare and empty.

"Scott?" I called out, locking the door behind me. "Scott, where are you?"

"Riley?" Scott replied timidly from the door to the left of the apartment. "What are you doing here?"

I walked over to the door and rested my head against the door. "I came to see how you were doing, and to tell you something… Something about what we've been doing-"

I was interrupted by the rattling of the door handle to the mini apartment.

"Scott, I need you to let me in. I need to see that you are okay."

"You – Riley, I can't see you right now. It's not good for my recovery. Doctor Bartlett says it would only hinder it. I need to get better. You being here brings back too many bad things. You're supposed to be looking after Bella."

"Scott- there's something you need to know. It's about the meds you gave me before you asked me to take you here. I asked Nolan to get Rossco to look at them… Scott, they were making things ten times worse for you- both mentally and physically. Please, open the door."

I waited through the rattling of the door handle, and denied the calls from Nolan. Squeezing my phone, I waited.

Eventually Scott opened the door. I stood there in shock and awe- I missed him way too much. It was awkward. I hadn't seen him in so long that I didn't really know what to do. An impulse in me made me throw my arms around him and hug him tight.

"I have missed you so much," I whispered, tucking my chin over his shoulder. "You're okay… You're okay, you're okay."

Over his shoulder, I frowned at what was in his room. All over the wall above the bed was all the intel Scott must have retrieve with relation to his father's death and mother's incarceration. Strings of red lace connected pieces together. I knew it was important, so I used my phone to take photos of the wall in his room before pulling away.

"Before you ask, Bella's okay. A little flustered about the wedding prep, how long you are away on work, the third trimester of her pregnancy or whatever, and then there is this big photoshoot she's got coming up… But everything is under control. It's all okay."

"Everything apart from you," Scott mumbled, brushing a tear from my cheek with his thumb.

The door suddenly clicked and opened. Doctor Bartlett was standing in the doorway, flanked by two security guards who grabbed me and dragged me away.

"Wait!" I called out loudly. "I said wait!" I kicked out and they stopped on the corridor. "Doctor Bartlett- you and me need to talk," I growled, gritting my teeth.

She smirked at me. "Oh darling, of course. If you think it'll help with your own debilitating mental capacities."

My gaze jerked between Doctor Bartlett and Scott standing in the doorway.

Something really was wrong in this place – but I was going to find out the truth. I had to. For Scott.

 **Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Oh boy, this chapter has been so hard to write! I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to let me know what you're thinking and if there's anything that you want me to cover in the next chapter**


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